Shaun McLeod |
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| Position | Lecturer | |
| shaun.mcleod@deakin.edu.au | ||
| Area | School of Communication & Creative Arts | |
| Phone | +61 3 925 17651 | |
| Campus | Burwood | |
| Location | Melbourne Campus | |
| Role and profile |
Shaun is a New Zealander who has spent most of his professional life in Australia. After graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts he joined Australian Dance Theatre in Adelaide where he danced for three years. He has also danced with other dance companies such as Danceworks (Melbourne), Company in Space (Melbourne), One Extra (Sydney) and Locomotion Company (New Zealand). During his dancing career he has worked with many of Australasia’s top choreographers including Leigh Warren, Graham Watson, Helen Herbertson, Graham Murphy, Nanette Hassel, Douglas Wright and Michael Parmenter. Since 1993, Shaun has been a distinctive presence in the Melbourne independent dance scene dancing with independent choreographers, building an impressive choreographic output, a profile as a dance improviser and as a committed teacher. Over the past few years Shaun has concentrated on his passion for dance improvisation and he performs on a regular basis at some of Melbourne’s premier improvisation forums, such as Conundrum (Cecil St Studios) and Cracking it Open (Dancehouse) and The Dance Card (Dancehouse). He has also been invited to the Seoul International Crossover Improvisation Festival in 2005. He was a founding member of the improvisation collective Catch Cry (now disbanded) who performed at two Green Mill Dance Festivals and who created Fallow for Danceworks in 1997. His interest in improvisation has lead Shaun to explore the synergies between formal choreography and improvisational practice. His 2001 performance Chamber (winner of 2001 Green Room Award for video component) was an exploration of the ways in which improvisational practices and the aesthetics of the ephemeral could be contained within a structured choreographic format. In 2005 he is working on a solo show in which choreographer Simon Ellis, theatre director Bagryana Popov and film-maker Cormac Lally have been invited to collaborate on three short works to be performed by Shaun. Shaun has taught dance and composition at Deakin University since 1997. He has choreographed numerous works for the dance students there, as well as choreographing for the dance students at the VCA. |
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| Teaching responsibilities |
ACD 101/201/401 Introduction to Contemporary Dance Practice A (unit chair), ACD 102/202/402 Introduction to Contemporary Dance Practice B (unit chair), Bachelor of Contemporary Arts - Dance major sequence |
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| Research interests |
Improvisation in dance, masculinity and dance, choreographic practice. His professional choreographic credits include: Barely Real commissioned by Dancehouse for 2004 Melbourne Fringe Festival Chamber evening-length work for 3 dancers, original soundscore and video. Winner of 2002 Green Room Award for the video component (Cormac Lally & Christina Shepard) Small Packages commissioned by Victorian College of the Arts, 2000 Sour Great Escapes 1999, Dancehouse, Melbourne Plots: quartered & suspended Bodyworks Festival 1998, Dancehouse, Melbourne. Cowboy Songs Bodyworks Festival 1997, Dancehouse, Melbourne A Jig Before the Grave co-devised and performed by Nikki Fletcher & Sally Smith, Green Mill Dance Project 1997. Fallow evening-length, improvised performance commissioned by Danceworks, Melbourne (1997) co-devised and performed by Sally Smith, Michael Collins, Nicky Fletcher & Shaun McLeod Banter commissioned by Danceworks as one of the choreographers in the Fresh Start season 1996 (winner 1996 Melbourne Fringe Festival Award Best Dance Production) Scrub devised and performed with Nikki Fletcher and Christina Shepard, Green Mill Dance Project 1996 Crumbs co-choreographed and performed with Suzanne Hurley 1996 In Visible Ink co- devised,choreographed and performed with Michael Collins and Nikki Fletcher (nominated 1995 Green Room Awards) Heavy collaboration with Michael Collins, Dancehouse, 1994 Conference papers/presentations: ‘Cecil Street Studio: dance improvisation and sustainable practices’ for Dance Rebooted: Initializing the Grid, The Tertiary Dance Council of Australia, Ausdance National and Australia, New Zealand Dance Research, Melbourne, 2004. ‘Sensation(al) - experiencing improvised dance’ for Double Dialogues, Melbourne and Deakin Universities, 2004 |
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| Qualifications | BA (University of Canterbury), BA (Victorian College of the Arts), MA (Deakin) | |
| Research link | View Deakin associated research data | |
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22nd April 2013