Awaken Dance Theatre Company are a local, not for profit group involving youth and young adults aged 12 – 20 years from the Shepparton region. Awaken is completely run by volunteers to create original, cutting edge, contemporary dance theatre performances in our community. Cast members are required to audition and are a part of the collaborative creative process. The company offers leadership opportunities, including Assistant Choreographers, Dance Captains, Committee and Backstage roles. The Awaken community has a strong sense of teamwork as they strive to create a high quality performance piece together in a nurturing environment.
Awaken was a long time dream and vision for creative director and founder, Kyla McGregor, a local secondary school teacher. She officially began this company in 2018 and has been supported by an incredible team of committed parents and dancers over the years. Former cast members have developed their skills not only as dancers, but creative artists, forging pathways into tertiary studies in the Dance and Performing Arts fields at some of Australia’s top training institutions. Prior works include: Voyage (2018), I AM (2019), For The One (2020 as part of the award winning Dookie Quarry Chorus), Within (2021), Bloom – at The Woolshed (2022), Bloom / Automatic (2022, their first double bill season), and Belong (2023). In 2023, Awaken were also invited to open for The Australian Ballet’s performance of “Sleeping Beauty”, where they created and performed an original short work titled “Bound & Free”. They were also proud to perform as guest artists at Shepparton Carols by Candlelight in both 2022 and 2023.
Awaken Dance Theatre Company are thrilled to return to the Shepparton Festival with their brand new work Dance Interactive in April 2024, performed at the Riverlinks Studios. Awaken are mentored by The Australian Ballet Education team, through the generous support of The Fairley Foundation.
