Australia Dancing - Australian Choreographic Ensemble (1992

Australian Choreographic Ensemble (1992 - 1998)

Formed by Paul Mercurio as a vehicle for contemporary dance that would 'fire the imagination, challenge ideas and express the emotions', Australian Choreographic Ensemble, or ACE as it was regularly known, presented its inaugural season in Sydney at the Performance Space on 9 September 1992. For that first season Mercurio choreographed Contact, a work about the journey of self-discovery that we all make as human beings. Danced to music by Brett Cabot and with designs by John Senczuk the work featured the company's founding dancers, Mercurio, Jan Pinkerton, David Prudham, Brett Daffy, Katherine Arnold-Lindley and Paulina Quinteros. Its themes of conflict, confrontation and competition led to the making of a film documentary called Life's Burning Desire. In this film the establishment of ACE and the creation of Contact was recorded, and Mercurio's diverse theatrical career, including his work with Sydney Dance Company, was documented. In 1992 the company also performed in a short film, Envy, choreographed by Mercurio and made as part of an ABC-TV project, Seven Deadly Sins.

After ACE's opening season, Mercurio worked to make his company and its work accessible to a wide audience. He toured to large cities and small regional centres in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The company performed in regular proscenium spaces and a variety of other venues including historic houses and outdoor areas. The 1993 repertoire consisted of three works, Waiting and Dancing with I, both made by Mercurio while with Sydney Dance Company, and Imprint a work for 10 dancers made as a collaboration between Mercurio, Jan Pinkerton, Carolyn Hammer and Stephen Page. In 1994 the company presented In-side-out, a program of two works, Norman's Siren with choreography by Jan Pinkerton, and A Place to Rest Your Head with choreography by Carolyn Hammer. Other dancers who worked with the company included Sean Dwyer, Sharon Dalla-Costa and Benedict Leslie and the company personnel also included Andrea Toy as assistant to the artistic director and teacher for the company.

After 1994 ACE performed irregularly. The company folded in 1998.

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