Australia Dancing - Heaven, Michelle (1972

Heaven, Michelle (1972 - )

Golin, Carlo: Portrait of Michelle Heaven, 2003

Born in Adelaide, Michelle Heaven received her initial dance training from Joanna Priest before graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Dance in 1992. From 1993 to 1995 she danced with Sue Healey's Vis-a-Vis Dance Canberra. She performed in all Vis-a-Vis seasons and choreographed two works of her own, Monsieur Piquote for the Askew season and Body Bits - The Skeletal System for A Dancers' Choreographic Season. In addition to working with Healey, Heaven has made extensive contributions as a performer/collaborator to both live theatre and film, working nationally and internationally with choreographers and directors such as Phillip Adams, Gideon Obarzanek, Lucy Guerin, Michael Kantor, Douglas Horton (Chamber Made Opera), Sandra Parker, Tracie Mitchell and Leigh Warren.

Heaven also creates her own work within the mediums of dance movement, puppetry and film. As an emerging choreographer she created the film Interior, funded by Ausdance and the Australia Council in 1998. Interior has been shown nationally and internationally, winning an Inaugural Reel Dance award at the Reel Dance Festival 2000. Heaven was a recipient of the 1999 Dame Peggy Van Praagh Choreographic Scholarship at the Australian Choreographic Centre and a Victorian Green Room Award for ‘female dancer’ 2000. In 2001 she graduated with a Masters of Dance Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts. Heaven conceived and produced Disagreeable Object in 2002 and is currently investigating ideas for a new film based on Disagreeable Object. Her work with film and video has been examined as part of the research program, Conceiving Connections - futher choreographic research.

Research Materials

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Other resources

Find more about Heaven, Michelle in:

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