Chunky Move is located on the unceded lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations. We respectfully acknowledge the significant contributions of Australia’s First Peoples, and are committed to supporting the continuity of culture and relationship to this land.
Classes at
Chunky Move
Our Class Program runs 6 days a week featuring Contemporary OPEN and BEGINNER classes.
All of our Classes are taught by Chunky Move artists who are experienced professional dancers and teachers working within Melbourne’s esteemed contemporary dance community.
OPEN classes:
Recommended for intermediate to professional level dancers as well as people who regularly attend dance classes.
BEGINNER classes:
Suitable for people with little to no dance experience. The schedule also features our Complete Beginner Series, which runs for 4 weeks.
COUNTER TECHNIQUE:
Countertechnique is a sophisticated system of movement training, enabling dancers to move bigger, more fluidly and more spatially, while becoming stronger and more flexible.
Please note all class participants must be 18+ years old
See schedule below for bookings.
What’s On
50+ Complete Beginner Series
Join Deanne Butterworth for a six week series designed specifically for those 50 and above.
Fees: $110 Series Pass | $20 Single Class
No booking ahead required.
Weekly Tuesday nights 6:30pm – 8pm (90 min)
Week 1: Tue 22 Aug
Week 2: Tue 29 Aug
Week 3: Tue 5 Sep
Week 4: Tue 12 Sep
Week 5: Tue 19 Sep
Week 6: Tue 26 Sep
Running for 6 weeks from Tuesday 22 August, this series is open to persons 50 years and older looking for an inclusive and fun introduction to contemporary dance.
Over the weeks, you will be guided through simple sequences and explore natural, spontaneous movement and self-expression. This series will gradually build on skills, concepts and choreography. Sign up for the full 6 weeks or drop in and pay as you go.
Suitable for absolute beginners or those returning to dance after a hiatus.
Deanne is a highly respected performer, choreographer, and teacher. Melbourne based for 25 years she has shown work across many platforms including, Next Wave Festival, NGV, Dancehouse, Lucy Guerin Inc., Melbourne Fringe, Dance New Amsterdam (NYC), Hong Kong (with Jo Lloyd), WestSpace, Bus Gallery, Ian Potter Museum, Carriageworks, Temperance Hall, MONAFOMA and more. Her work traverses public and private spheres to include incidental performances in the everyday and the role of the spectator. Her work has been situated in galleries, theatres, museums, outdoors, and created for film.
Video still by COCO and MAXIMILIAN
Klein Technique Intensive
Led by Alice Heyward, Chunky Move is offering a week intensive of Klein Technique™ classes. Register for the full week or drop in as you choose. This series is open to people of all proficiency levels, dancers, and non-dancers alike.
Monday 18 Sept – Friday 22 Sept
9:30 to 11am daily
Regular class fees apply. Unlimited class passes not accepted.
Klein Technique focuses on moving from our deepest structural and energetic tissue, the bone, and the connections at the level of the bones. This is to improve movement and reduce and heal injuries. We will work on the muscles of deep postural support: the psoas, the hamstrings, the pelvic floor muscles, and the external rotators, with a body-felt understanding of how these muscles bring the bones into alignment, a place of connectedness, which leads to true power and efficiency of movement.
Klein Technique is a process-oriented practice of great value to people of all proficiency levels, dancers, and non-dancers alike. Our goal is to teach movement from the individual perspective of internal knowing and understanding. Students of all levels of practice in Klein Technique will gain insight into their movement patterns and habits and gain a greater internal understanding of their bodies.
Alice Heyward is a dancer, choreographer, dramaturge and teacher from Australia living in Berlin. Her practice develops through diverse collaborations. Through movement-thought, she explores the production of embodied poetics. Her teaching of Klein Technique™ is grounded in an understanding of the body as an integral whole to maximise the individual’s unique movement potential. Artistic projects in 2023 include an exhibition by Adam Linder at MCA (Aus), dramaturgy for Lulu Obermayer’s ‘Lulu’ (Vienna) and touring works with Luisa Saraiva (Lisbon and Leuven) and Maria Hassabi (Bologna). In 2022, she created ‘Tributary’ at Klosterruine in Berlin, in collaboration with Maciek Sado and Oisín Monaghan, premiering and touring ‘Tirana’ with Luisa Saraiva as research partner and performer, ‘Cancelled’ with Maria Hassabi, and touring ‘Here’ with Hassabi. In 2020/21, she collaborated with Fanny Gicquel making ‘do you feel the same’, a performance installation in gallery and public space, and ‘Cry Carpet’ with Megan Payne and Jacqui Shelton and ‘Here’ with Hassabi. She is currently developing a new solo project exploring the figure of the banshee.
Ensaio geral do espectaculo Tirana, de Luisa Saraiva. Com Luisa Saraiva, Alice Heyward, Fabíola Augusta e Luisa Fernanda Alfonso.
Experiences for
schools
All of Chunky Move’s Experiences for Schools are taught by Chunky Move dance artists who have significant teaching experience across age and ability. Each facilitator is an experienced professional dancer working within Melbourne’s esteemed contemporary dance industry. Every member of our teaching team is generous, supportive and professional and holds a current Working with Children Check.
The below experiences are all available as incursions, excursions or as live digital offerings via Zoom.
We have a range of workshops available, from Primary age to VCE level, and we can also tailor workshops to meet your needs.
Excursion Option
Dance workshops are held at Chunky Move’s purpose-built dance studios, featuring sprung flooring, moveable mirrors and high-quality audio system. Situated in the heart of Melbourne’s arts precinct, the studios are easily accessible by public transport.
Incursion Option
Upon request, dance workshops can be held at your school. Please bear in mind that you must be able to provide a suitable venue and that an extra fee may be charged to cover the teacher’s travel expenses.
Please click here for our booking form.
For more information please contact info@chunkymove.com.au for more information or call us on 03 9645 5188.
First Peoples Youth Dance Workshops
Commencing in April 2021, Chunky Move in partnership with Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Cooperative offers a First Peoples youth dance school holiday workshop program (ages primary to high school). This program runs in Donald during the April school holidays, Stawell during the June school holidays, and Horsham during the September school holidays. Hosted by Chunky Move’s Ngioka Bunda-Heath (Wakka Wakka, Ngugi, Birrpai) in collaboration with various First Nation guest male facilitators. Participants will engage in movement workshops consisting of contemporary technique, and hip-hop classes and learn fusion routines inspired by stories shared by Wotjobaluk Elders and Senior Community members.
In 2023, the First Peoples Youth Dance Workshops have grown to include a new partnership with the Aboriginal Wellness Foundation and the community of Wyndham Vale. Ngioka teaches movement workshops to Youth, Teens, and a Women’s group in quarters two and four out of the Wunggurrwil Dhurrung Centre.
For more information on Chunky Move’s First Peoples Youth Dance Workshops please email Ngioka Bunda-Heath at ngioka@chunkymove.com.au. Supported by VicHealth Reimagining Health JumpStart! grant.
Bala Neba and Ngioka Bunda-Heath teaching at our Dimboola April 2021 workshop
YIRRAMBOI
YIRRAMBOI festival platforms the interconnectedness and diversity of First Nations creatives, locally, nationally and internationally. A 10 day feast of mediums spanning the breadth of artistic expressions with a collective voice of resilience and evolutionary practices. Emerging, mid-career and established First Nations creatives taking back space to crack open the heart of Melbourne, revealing the hum of country beneath.
In 2023, Chunky Move presented a series of dynamic dance classes led by leading First Nations dance artists curated by Ngioka Bunda-Heath (Wakka Wakka, Ngugi, Birrpai).
Teachers included Thomas E.S Kelly, Joel Bray, Zoe Brown-Holten, Amelia O’Leary, Tyrel Dulvarie, Jasmin Sheppard, and Rheannan Port.
