Canberra’s Australian Dance Party is turning 10 – and throwing a very different kind of party

Posted on 28 April, 2026

This May, Canberra’s own Australian Dance Party is marking a milestone moment: 10 years of nurturing dance artists in the ACT.

It feels only right that they’re throwing a party to celebrate.

But unlike your typical birthday bash, SPHERE pays tribute in a different way – inviting audiences to step into a unique world as Australian Dance Party (ADP) takes on something they’ve never attempted at this scale before: merging contemporary dance, film and sound.

From Thursday 14 to Saturday 16 May, SPHERE acknowledges ADP’s work as a site-responsive dance company, capturing their deep connection to the environments of the ACT. Transforming The Vault into a moving tribute, the work offers a distilled reflection of their evolving practice.

The result is a 360-degree film installation combining vivid visuals and breathtaking movement, while allowing audiences to interact with the artists.

For ADP Artistic Director and Founder Alison Plevey, it’s a meta-reflection on the company she built from the ground up.

“We named it SPHERE because it’s about the sphere of influence around us and how our environment shapes us as we shape it,” she explains.

“For example, this Canberra space and the people around us, the places we visit – how do they change who we are? And how do we impact them in return? There’s a subtext of conscious awareness about how powerful our environment is.”

Dancers Alison Plevey, Ashlee Bye, and Gabriel Sinclair.

Known for their site-specific works, ADP usually asks audiences to venture out – whether to the Mt Stromlo Observatory or the National Botanic Gardens. . With SPHERE, they flip the script, bringing those environments directly to the audience.

Creating a meditation on the power of place, it’s a fitting homage to ADP’s 10-year milestone.

“We’re pretty proud to reach this point,” says Alison.

“We hope to continue for another 10 years, supporting professional artists to build sustainable careers in Canberra. We’re the national capital – we should have professional dance companies here. That’s our goal.”

Directed by Alison alongside Sara Black – both of whom also perform – SPHERE features a cast of eight professional Canberra dance artists, including Ashlee Bye, Gabriel Sinclair, Pat Hayes Cavanagh, Jahna Lugnan, Jason Pearce and Mia Rashid.

Working closely with composer Sia Ahmad and videographer Creswick Collective, the creative process has been expansive – particularly for Pat.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect in real time as part of the performance,” she says.

“Every step of the process has been about memory and the places we were lucky enough to film in. It’s an interesting experiment – I love returning to it again and again and discovering something new.”

An alumnus of Quantum Leap Australia, Pat went on to train at the Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year. For her, ADP has made it possible to work professionally in the arts in Canberra.

Dancer Pat Hayes.

After returning from Sydney in 2020, she joined the company as a Junior Party Artist in 2021.

“Australian Dance Party started when I was 17 or 18, and before I left for full-time training, I realised I could come back to Canberra and work professionally as a dancer. That suddenly became possible,” she says.

“The ability to create distinct, connected work in Canberra with Ali and ADP – it’s the dream job.”

And in true ADP fashion, SPHERE isn’t just a show. On the final evening, they’ll host a proper birthday party, complete with drinks, nibbles and speeches.

There’ll also be a surprise performance (and, of course, a dance floor), with funds raised on the night going directly to ADP to support their future work.

Reflecting on the past decade, Alison says building ADP has been – simply put – hard work.

But looking at how far it’s come, it’s also been deeply rewarding.

“ADP has become more of a community.. In the beginning, it was very much a solo endeavour ,” she says.

“Now it’s shared and supported by a collective of professional artists. We lift each other up – it’s about the company as a whole. It means the world to me that something I dreamed up means as much to others as it does to me.”

SPHERE is, at its heart, about memory.

And as ADP continues to challenge audiences, question ideas and celebrate life, it’s also looking ahead – ready to create new ones.

Photography: Creswick Collective.