CATAPULT HISTORY
Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub was founded in 2014, and is led by established dance choreographer and Artistic Director, Cadi McCarthy.
As the second largest city in NSW populated by 620,000 people, Catapult was founded in response to the limited opportunities for professional contemporary dance choreographers and artists to develop new work in the city.
Since its establishment in 2014, Catapult has created a hub where professional contemporary dance choreographers & multi-disciplinary artists can create, experiment and produce new work; elevating dance through a multi-pronged approach to art-form, artist and audience development in the region.
Catapult is committed to establishing greater experiences for professional artists, emerging artists, young people and the broader community to access and participate in contemporary dance programs, multi-disciplinary residencies and activities in the Newcastle, and Greater Hunter regions of NSW.
Over the next four years Catapult will continue to be a creative leader; advocating and supporting the careers of regional NSW artists, and continuing to foster an ambitious, contemporary and progressive arts sector that is inspired locally, but now reaches out nationally and internationally.
CATAPULT:
SUPPORTS, LEADS, CULTIVATES & CHAMPIONS choreographers & arts practitioners through choreographic residencies, commissions, national/international exchanges & professional development opportunities. We provide a platform to seed, develop & present innovative dance works based on collaboration, experimentation and performance; and acquire networks to propel artists in new directions.
CATAPULT:
BUILDS INTERNATIONAL / REGIONAL PROGRAMS which nurture partnerships and broker international collaborations and commissions; creating a hub of global choreographic exchange in Newcastle.
CATAPULT:
RETAINS professional artists in the region and provide avenues for regional artists to work & thrive in Newcastle through consistent, creative employment which builds individual, organisational and regional capacity.
CATAPULT:
SUPPORTS YOUNG PEOPLE to evolve into the next generation of Australian artists and future thinkers. Our youth programs advance and advocate youth dance and place young people at the centre of the creative process. We provide local, national and international opportunities for young people to work alongside professional artists in inclusive, task-based contemporary dance & choreographic programs.
CATAPULT:
ADVOCATES FOR FIRST NATIONS choreographers, composers, multi-disciplinary & young artists. We invest in career pathways for First Nation artists, provide professional employment, engagement & inclusion and avenues for strong cultural voices. We act as an advocate and provide a platform for youth to access dance to explore culture expression, providing important cultural links. Catapult only engages/employs Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander artists to lead/teach & choreograph these workshops.
CATAPULT:
BUILDS DIVERSE AUDIENCE & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT focused on opportunities to view performances, attend open-studio events, choreographic showings, Q&A sessions & performances in alternative spaces. Catapult is focused on broadening capacity, providing inclusive platforms that engage intergenerational communities in creative & participatory activities.