Australia Dancing - Healey, Sue (1962

Healey, Sue (1962 - )

Gould, Ross: Sue Healey in 'Trio', Vis-a-Vis Dance Canberra, 1994

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New Zealand-born Sue Healey studied dance in her home town of Auckland before coming to Australia in 1980 to study at the Victorian College of the Arts. In 1983 she was a founding member of Dance Works and performed with and choreographed for that company until 1988. As an independent artist from 1989 to 1992 she worked frequently in the United States with Zvi Gottheiner and Nina Wiener and with Michael Parmenter in New Zealand. During this period she also worked with Don Asker on his China Choreographic Project and choreographed works for a number of Australasian companies including TasDance, Dance North, the One Extra Company, Limbs Dance Company and Downstage Theatre Company (both from New Zealand), and the Aichi Arts Centre, Nagoya, Japan. For Sue Healey and Dancers she made The Long Fall from Splendour to Splendour (1990) and Knee Deep in Thin Air (1992).

In 1993 Healey was appointed director of Canberra's professional dance company, which she renamed Vis-a-Vis Dance Canberra. For Vis-a-Vis she created a number of new pieces including Utter Heart (1993), Fugue - in Pursuit of Flight (1994), Succulent Blue Sway (1994) and Saddle Up! (1995). For Vis-a-Vis she also reprised Knee Deep in Thin Air and staged the work of company members including Phillip Adams, Michelle Heaven and Brett Daffy.

Healey resigned from Vis-a-Vis in mid 1995 and since then has pursued a freelance career as a choreographer and has developed an interest in the use of film in dance. Since 2002, associate artists Shona Erskine, Lisa Griffiths and Nalina Wait have been integral to her work which has involved the creation of 'series' ranging across film, installation, performance and international collaboration. Her 2002-2003 Niche series has been screened in nine countries and received wide critical acclaim, with Fine Line, a film based on the performance piece Fine Line Terrain in this series, winning the ReelDance 2004 award. Healey was awarded the 2008 dance on film Australian Dance Award for Will Time Tell, part of the 2004-2007 In Time series, and for her outstanding contribution to the dance-film medium.

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Find more about Healey, Sue in:

Internet - Google
Collection - OzLife
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia
Libraries - Libraries Australia