lOFT
A JOINT-INITIATIVE BETWEEN ADT AND CREATESA
A space at the top of a building, in the centre of the city, dedicated to elevating independent dance practice in South Australia on sovereign Kaurna Yerta.
Located at Level One, Lion Arts Centre, LOFT provides residencies, space to create and opportunities for independent dance artists to flex, explore and extend their practice alongside their peers locally, nationally and internationally.
We’re thrilled to announce the successful recipients of the inaugural EXPOUND, EXPLORE and PEAK Residencies:
EXPOUND: Internationally renowned Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer Christopher Gurusamy will receive $30,000 and up to six weeks of studio time to develop his work Kalki
EXPLORE: Ade Suharto (SA), Aimee Raitman (VIC), Alix Kuijpers (SA), Cheeky Chandler (NT), Kaine Sultan Babij (SA), Natalie Allen (WA), Thomas Bradley (NSW) and Tyler Carney-Faleatua (NSW) will each receive $3000, one week of studio time and the opportunity to present a free workshop for the SA dance sector.
PEAK: Gabrielle Nankivell receives $12,000 and studio time to continue development on Conjuring, while independent SA dance makers Zoë Dunwoodie, Janelle Egan and Motus Collective receive a small grant to crack into ideas of their own.
Click here to read the full media release.
Applications for EXPERIMENT residencies are still open for South Australian artists.
CURRENT
OPPORTUNITIES
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Internationally renowned Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer Christopher Gurusamy is the recipient of the EXPOUND Residency, the largest residency of its kind in Australia.
Christopher will receive $30,000 and up to six weeks of studio time at LOFT to develop his work Kalki, which seeks to explore Bharatanatyam, Carnatic Music and South Asian work can look like in 21st century Australia.
“I am so full of gratitude to be the recipient of the 2025 Expound Residency,” says Christopher, “Thank you to Australian Dance Theatre and CreateSA for this opportunity. I am very excited to share, create and learn in Adelaide and connect with its arts community. It will propel Kalki and broaden the trajectory of my practice.”
About Chris:
Christopher is one of the world’s leading Bharatanatyam artistes, recognised as a trailblazer of his generation within India, Australia and globally. Born in Perth with mixed Singapore-Indian and British heritage, Christopher lived in Chennai for 17 years, becoming the only Australian to graduate from renowned arts conservatorium Kalakshetra.
A highly popular soloist, Christopher performs annually in Chennai’s prestigious December Season. He has received international praise including being named in ‘Best Dance of 2017’ (New York Times).
Christopher’s work Ānanda: Dance of Joy (2024) staged for Eternity Playhouse (Darlinghurst) and Dancehouse (Melbourne) received critical acclaim including in The Age and Fjord, receiving the ‘Outstanding Performer’ nomination at the Green Room Awards. His most recent work 5 Arrows premiered at Utp (Bankstown) in April 2025.
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Each explore resident receives $3,000, one week of studio time at LOFT and the opportunity to present a free workshop for the South Australian dance sector.
Our 2025 EXPLORE residents are:
Ade Suharto (SA),
Aimee Raitman (VIC)
Alix Kuijpers (SA)
Cheeky Chandler (NT)
Kaine Sultan Babij (SA)
Natalie Allen (WA)
Thomas Bradley (NSW)
Tyler Carney-Faleatua (NSW)
Stay tuned for information about their workshops throughout the year.
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Experiment is a one-week residency with the studio provided in-kind.
This opportunity is available to any artist currently working or residing in SA who has dancing, movement or body-based studio practice. This residency in based is the Tanja Liedtke Studio at The Odeon Theatre in Norwood.
There are multiple Experiment residencies on offer throughout the year.
Residencies are available during the following periods:
Monday 2 June – Friday 6 June
Monday 9 June – Friday 13 June
Monday 14 July – Friday 18 July
Monday 21 July - Friday 25 July
Monday 1 September – Friday 5 September
Monday 8 September – Friday 12 September
Please Note: Dates will be updated as residencies are allocated. Please keep checking in for confirmation of available dates before you apply.
Click here to read our Experiment Residency FAQs - note you must read FAQs carefully prior to applying.
LOFT is a join-initiative between CreateSA and Australian Dance Theatre designed to support and activate the independent dance sector in South Australia, giving artists time and space to develop work, build their skills and foster collaborations locally, nationally and internationally.
LOFT is a place where dance is celebrated and independent artists are centred at every opportunity.
LOFT is led by Producer Viviana Sacchero alongside the team at Australian Dance Theatre. If you have queries please be in touch.
GET IN TOUCH
PEAK RESIDENCY
We're thrilled to announce Gabrielle Nankivell as the recipient of the PEAK Residency, who will continue development on Conjuring (or how to make the show between us), a thrilling choreographic experiment exploring live, collaborative performance making between performers and witnesses/audiences.
Ambitious, form-breaking and in equal parts unexpected, hilarious and poignant, Conjuring will receive time in the LOFT studio, a grant of $12,000 and support from Adelaide Fringe to bring the work to life.
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In addition to Gabrielle, South Australian artists Zoë Dunwoodie, Janelle Egan and Motus Collective will each receive a week of studio time and a grant to develop their projects at LOFT throughout 2025.
LOFT is a joint-initiative between ADT and CreateSA
LOFT is supported by Hill Smith Art Advisory. If you would like to support LOFT, please get in touch.
