Temperance Hall

Temperance Hall Australian queer dance/performance/art. Home to Phillip Adams BalletLab. Boon Wurrung Country. Scrutinizing behaviour, sexuality, culture with currency.

Contemporary dance performance made in collaboration with significant artistic partners.

🗞⚠🚨Brad Spolding is joining the Board of Temperance Hall 🗞⚠🚨As we continue to rebuild and reimagine Temperance Hall in 2...
19/12/2024

🗞⚠🚨Brad Spolding is joining the Board of Temperance Hall 🗞⚠🚨

As we continue to rebuild and reimagine Temperance Hall in 2025, we are thrilled to announce the appointment of arts curator, programmer and producer Brad Spolding to the Board of Temperance Hall.

Brad joins the Board at a pivotal moment as we develop a renewed vision for the organisation to champion independent dance, and q***r and experimental artistic performance practices. Brad's appointment follows recent appointees Anna McDermott and Brooke Stamp.

BIO: Brad is a curator, programmer and producer working across art forms. Highlights from the last decade include his role as Artistic Director & CEO of The Substation, a multi-art space presenting contemporary, experimental art. Over his 7–year tenure, Brad transformed The Substation into a beacon of contemporary and experimental arts with a reputation for bold commissioning, building a critically acclaimed national and international program for a broad audience. During this time, Brad was engaged by Asia T**A as the Curator of the performance program Subsonic, delivering programming across Arts Centre Melbourne. Subsonic commissioned four new Australian works and hosted sold-out performances across the Arts Centre’s venues.

From 2022–24, Brad was the inaugural Arts Program Director at the Brisbane Powerhouse. In this role, he led the curation of the arts program, focused on building a more diverse audience across a broader demographic. Before these roles, Brad was Executive Producer of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, overseeing a momentous period of growth for the company. He led large-scale projects with national and international touring and investment, building lasting personal relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities.

Brad holds a Bachelor’s in Visual Arts, a Graduate Diploma in Arts Management and a Master's in Arts and Community Practice. He is a board member of the Macfarlane Fund, an alumnus of the Cranlana and Creative Australia Leadership programs, and a founding member of Theatre Network Australia.

(Image supplied courtesy of the artist; design by Hamish McIntosh)

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Fleur Conlon (Nov–Dec)~~Fleur Conlon is an Australian dancer, performing artist a...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Fleur Conlon (Nov–Dec)~~

Fleur Conlon is an Australian dancer, performing artist and choreographer. Her knowledge of contemporary dance was shaped by her participation in the creative processes with a range of freelance choreographers and her years living in Europe and Australia. Her choreographic interests centre on developing and sustaining a dance practice through sensorial and visceral improvisation practices. In the role of dance performer/collaborator, she contributed to the work of many influential artists and companies such as Michael-Keegan Dolan, Christoph Winkler, Toula Limnious, Benoit Lachambre, Georg Reischl, Rose Breuss, Michael Klien, Alice Will Caroline and Caroline Meaden among others and companies Volksopera and Tanztheater Wien, Cie Toula Limnious, Royal Opera House and Opera Australia. Fleur has performed in a range of situations e.g. large-scale traditional theatres, opera venues, site-specific locations and non-traditional spaces and festivals such as ImpulusTanz Vienna, Dance Massive Festival, and Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Fleur says: “The residency will provide an invaluable opportunity to explore and research my ideas and realign my focus on my artistic endeavours. I look forward to dedicating time to building on and developing my chorographic ideas, and I feel honored to further evolve my practice at Temperance Hall.”

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Gabriella Imrichova (Sep–Oct)~~Gabriella Imrichova makes live performance across ...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Gabriella Imrichova (Sep–Oct)~~

Gabriella Imrichova makes live performance across gallery, theatre, and dance spaces. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre (2019), Gabriella participated in the Emerging Choreographers Program at Dancehouse in 2022/3. They have undertaken residencies at Bundanon, Testing Grounds, and most recently, the ATLAS scholarship program at ImPulsTanz. They have presented works at Blindside Gallery, Temperance Hall, and Gertrude Contemporary as part of ‘Contact High’.

Gabriella says: "I plan to spend my time exploring two questions: “What “shouldn’t” be centred in the live performance moment?” and “What is it that live performance can do that no other form can?” I’ll approach these through the body, researching and developing an archetype inspired by The Bastard and The Critical Troll, as well as take advantage of the time and space to move beyond the body and into aesthetics, materials, and objects. I’m excited to see what emerges from this period of focused research and world-building and how it will impact my practice. I’m honoured to be part of this pilot program. Thank you for having me :)"

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Deanne Butterworth (Jul–Aug)~~Deanne Butterworth is a performer, choreographer, a...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Deanne Butterworth (Jul–Aug)~~

Deanne Butterworth is a performer, choreographer, and teacher whose practice is preoccupied with the investigation of movement and how it relates to the physical, emotional, and sonic space in which it is located. She has shown her work and performed in the works of many choreographers in Australia and internationally over the past 30 years.

Deanne says: “For me Temperance Hall has always been a place of experimental creation for movement- this hall, even as Napier Street Theatre was and is still a place where there is a freedom to explore new ideas and experiment with the art form of dance. It is place where I performed early solo work back in the late 1990s . I think I remember something about creating work for a season called 'Napoleon's Bastards' which was performed on the stage and where I made own soundtrack using a Howie B cassette. For the Front Studio Residency. in 2025 I will investigate my choreographic practice through the lens of alternative dance gestures and codes, history, and narrative. My aim is to disrupt my thinking and the organisation of choreographic practice while creating a suite of experimental live dance, film works, and sound material that will be shared at the conclusion of the Residency. I look forward to being supported with studio access under the Temperance Hall banner- to have time and space to think, create, work, fail, create something special, share experience, and share new dance work with the dance community of Naarm.”

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Geoffrey Watson (May–Jun)~~I am a Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist whose ...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Geoffrey Watson (May–Jun)~~

I am a Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist whose work originated in dance but has deviated towards costume, sculpture, text et al. My work is often generated from an interest in folk historiography, classical art forms and Protestant religiosity, influences which coloured my earliest engagement with art and culture. Lately my desire to create work has come through a need to keep myself (and others) out of the church and on the streets – finding ways to reconcile my enduring attraction towards tradition, idealism and the sublime with the q***r, experimental ethics with which I currently identify.

Geoffrey says: “During this residency I will be working to defy the limits to which choreography can be recalled, described, and faithfully reproduced – using visual, sonic and linguistic media to proliferate the internal experience of recapturing a fleeting, thoughtless moment of dance – demarcating it as worthy of immortalisation.”

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Chung Nguyen (Mar–Apr)~~Chung Nguyen (he/them) is a Vietnamese dance artist, soma...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Chung Nguyen (Mar–Apr)~~

Chung Nguyen (he/them) is a Vietnamese dance artist, somatic movement facilitator and registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, with over a decade of international experience, based in Naarm/Melbourne. Passionate about the body-mind connection, consciousness, dreams, memories and healing, Chung's work is deeply grounded in somatic and contemplative approaches. Through his creative research over the past few years, Chung explores the intersection of performance art, dance, and healing, examining his q***r identity in relation to his Vietnamese heritage. He investigates the interplay between the body, domestic and found objects, and natural materials within living environments. He fosters a profound relational presence that connects the performer, the audience, and the more-than-human world, striving to inspire positive changes in society. He has participated in artist-in residencies, including Deep in the Mountains (South Korea), Southeast Asia Choreolab (Malaysia), The International Choreographers Residency-American Dance Festival (Durham, USA), to name just a few, and recently in the Independent Choreographers Program at Dance House.

Chung says: “During my residency at Temperance Hall, I plan to deepen my ongoing project, Fluid Memories: Self-portrayal, which I first shared in Out of Bounds (a sharing platform presented by Lucy Guerin Inc and Temperance Hall) and recently further developed while participating in the Independent Choreographer Program 2024 at Dance House. In my ongoing exploration of the Vietnamese War, I've encountered powerful images depicting the aftermath of Agent Orange, a chemical herbicide used by the U.S. military, which has stimulated me to question the connection between my subconsciousness and the aftermath of the war. So, for this residency, I aim to uncover further that question/interest through a self-photographic process and choreographic interpretations of my self-images.”

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!~~Tony Yap (Jan–Feb)~~Tony Yap, born in Malaysia, is an accomplished dancer, direct...
12/12/2024

Meet the 2025 Front Studio Residents!

~~Tony Yap (Jan–Feb)~~

Tony Yap, born in Malaysia, is an accomplished dancer, director and choreographer. His innovative approach to trance focuses on a deep analysis of specific trance zones and their relationship to abstract choreography. Amid a diverse range of choreographic methods, his work emphasises a profound immersion in trance states achieved through a process of ego detachment. According to Jonathan Marshall in The Conversationalist (2024), “Tony’s performative trance embodies what one might describe as ‘postmodern classicism,’ integrating ritual and traditional dances reimagined within an abstract contemporary framework.” He has received numerous nominations and awards including The Decay of the Angel, which won him a Green Room Award for Male Dancer Award; and Rasa Sayang was nominated for The Australian Dance Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Independent Dance. He has been a leading figure in inter-cultural discourse and has received both Asialink residential grants and a Dance fellowship from Creative Australia.

Tony says: “Throughout the residency I will develop my project, The Wound – an exploration of pain. This experimental work unfolds within a 3x3-metre square space, driven through hidden grids that create both choreographic and abstract forms. The theme of "The Wound" explores the concepts of real and abstract pain." "Pain disrupts the barrier between the concealed and the illuminated. Without pain, this experimental journey risks becoming a mere lifeless digital representation, stripped of emotional depth. It essentially becomes void of the erotic—merely presenting transparent information that lacks engagement.”

(Images supplied courtesy of the artists; design by )

Announcing the 2025 Temperance Hall Front Studio ResidentsWe’re very pleased to announce Chung Nguyen, Deanne Butterwort...
12/12/2024

Announcing the 2025 Temperance Hall Front Studio Residents

We’re very pleased to announce Chung Nguyen, Deanne Butterworth, Fleur Conlon, Gabriella Imrichova, Geoffrey Watson and Tony Yap as the inaugural Temperance Hall Front Studio Residents for 2025.

Last month Temperance Hall’s Executive Producer William McBride, artist Board Members Brooke Stamp, Brett Chynoweth and Anna McDermott, and Stockholm-based Melbourne dance icon Lilian Steiner, convened to select this dynamic cohort from 56 applicants.

Each artist will receive 2 months of exclusive access to Temperance Hall’s Front Studio, along with a $5000 artist fee and professional documentation of their work. Each artist will also present a public outcome, sharing their research with the Temperance Hall community.

This program was seeded in mid-2024 through the generous contributions of private donors, who were willing to invest in Temperance Hall’s future when our circumstances were at their most precarious. From that investment, we have been able to secure additional support from the City of Port Phillip, the Palais Theatre Community Fund and Creative Australia, turning the Front Studio Residency into one of the most substantial investments in Melbourne independent dance practice in 2025.

From the outset, our Artistic Subcommittee talked about providing an opportunity that was trusting, uncomplicated and generous in support of independent artists.

The 2025 Front Studio Residency cohort showcases a range of approaches to choreography, which reflect the values that have defined Temperance Hall’s commitment to independent dance – bold q***r aesthetics and artistic enquiries, courageous and non-conformist approaches to artistic experimentation, rigorous engagement with dance and movement research.

⚠️🚨REMINDER🚨⚠️EOIs for the 2025 Front Studio Residency close at midnight, this Sunday 27 October.Across 2025, we are off...
22/10/2024

⚠️🚨REMINDER🚨⚠️

EOIs for the 2025 Front Studio Residency close at midnight, this Sunday 27 October.

Across 2025, we are offering six two-month residencies in our Front Studio for Independent Artists/Collectives working in choreographic practice. Residents will receive your own key, exclusive studio access, a $2K stipend and professional documentation of your work.

Find out more and submit your EOIs for the inaugural Temperance Hall Front Studio Residency via the link in our bios.

Image credit: Brett Chynoweth
Design credit: Hamish McIntosh

Across 2025, Temperance Hall is pleased to offer six 2-month studio residencies in our newly refurbished Front Studio.Th...
07/10/2024

Across 2025, Temperance Hall is pleased to offer six 2-month studio residencies in our newly refurbished Front Studio.

Thanks to generous seed funding from several key private supporters of Temperance Hall, as well as support from the City of Port Phillip and the Palais Theatre Community Fund, we will be offering six choreographic artists studio residencies across 2025, providing exclusive access to our Front Studio, in addition to a $2K stipend, and professional documentation of your work.

Follow the links in our bio to find out more and apply by midnight Sunday October 27.

Spring into spring at Temperance Hall, and join choreographer and dancer Lee Serle for class on Monday nights this Septe...
28/08/2024

Spring into spring at Temperance Hall, and join choreographer and dancer Lee Serle for class on Monday nights this September!

Drawing on his extensive experience, Lee’s Monday night series will be interwoven with a good amount of chat and discussion: part class, part individual and group practice. Led by Lee, classes will begin with a guided visualisation, where participants will map the body at rest—focusing on the skeleton to explore joint function and possible directions for movement. Practising a deep integration of the mind and body to prepare for dancing, Lee will provide space for individual and group dance practices, allowing everyone to explore and share where they're at right now 🌸

Class w. Lee: Mondays at Temperance Hall, 18:00 - 20:00, 2 - 23 September | | For more info and to book: https://events.humanitix.com/class-with-lee-serle

Lee Serle is a choreographer, dancer and teacher who has presented his choreographic work to critical acclaim worldwide. Creating dances on all scales, from grand stages to the intimate and personal, Lee has worked with many of Australia and America’s leading contemporary dance choreographers and companies, including Trisha Brown Company, Tere O’Connor, Lucy Guerin and Shelley Lasica. Image—Gregory Lorenzutti.

Are you Temperance Hall's next Treasurer? Apply to join our Board via the link in bio!..Next month we will sadly farewel...
27/08/2024

Are you Temperance Hall's next Treasurer? Apply to join our Board via the link in bio!..
Next month we will sadly farewell our long-serving Treasurer Wayne Box, who has moved to greener pastures (Brisbane).

Wayne has diligently served as our Treasurer since 2019, and has helped us weather several storms, including the tumult of COVID, and recent funding challenges.

Wayne says "Serving as the Treasurer on the Board of Balletlab/Temperance Hall has been an incredibly rewarding experience. In this position, I've enjoyed the challenge of overseeing the financial health of a company that supports the LGBTIQA+ community through dance. It's been gratifying to see how my work behind the scenes directly supports the company's artistic endeavours. I've particularly appreciated the opportunity to ensure our resources are aligned with our values, enabling us to sustain impactful projects and initiatives. Being part of a Board that is as passionate about inclusivity as it is about artistic excellence has made this role especially meaningful for me."

TEMPERANCE HALL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS– DISCOUNTED SPACE FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS We are now taking venue hire bookings unt...
01/08/2024

TEMPERANCE HALL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS– DISCOUNTED SPACE FOR INDEPENDENT ARTISTS

We are now taking venue hire bookings until the end of the year, with a revamped booking system. For the next three months, we are trialling half-price last-minute space hire for Independent Artists for bookings made less than one week in advance, bringing rates for rehearsal down to as low as $12/hr. This initiative is perfect if you need to book a last-minute rehearsal, or just need space to play.

Go to the HIRE OUR SPACES pagfe on our website to book your discounted space >> https://www.temperancehall.com.au/hire-our-spaces/
Use code “Half-price for Independent Artists” at the end of the Venue Hire Enquiry Form.

Start your winter week with a climb into curiosity, and join dancer, choreographer, and teacher Bec Jensen for class on ...
30/07/2024

Start your winter week with a climb into curiosity, and join dancer, choreographer, and teacher Bec Jensen for class on Monday nights at Temperance Hall this August! These classes will allow our community of professional dancers and movement practitioners to connect and share heat and energy while the weather cools: the tone is inquiry, movement research, sensing and taking/making time. Led by Bec, these Monday night classes will include a guided warm-up, explorations of prompts and movement proposals, and reflections on what it is we are doing. Over two hours, participants will have plenty of time for deep diving: moving through, over, and under new ideas and physicalities. Alongside dancing, Bec will sometimes invite the group to talk and read together 🐬

Class w. Bec: Mondays at Temperance Hall, 18:00 - 20:00, 5 - 26 August | | For more info and to book: https://events.humanitix.com/class-with-bec-jensen

Rebecca Jensen is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Aotearoa / New Zealand. Her practice considers the equally speculative and practical forces of dance practice, with sustaining interests in multiplicity, memory, time, and the influence of expanding digital technologies. Image—Courtesy of the artist.

Start your winter week with a shift into sensation, and join artist-researcher Brooke Stamp for class on Monday nights t...
20/06/2024

Start your winter week with a shift into sensation, and join artist-researcher Brooke Stamp for class on Monday nights this July! These classes will allow our community of professional dancers and movement practitioners to connect and share heat and energy while the weather cools: the vibe is activation, urgency, love, and presence. Led by Brooke, these Monday night classes will include a guided warm-up through sensing, explorations of prompts and modes of moving, before finishing with ample time to explore your practice within a gently scored environment 💚

Class w. Brooke: Mondays at Temperance Hall, 18:00 - 20:00, 1- 29 July | For more info and to book: https://events.humanitix.com/class-with-brooke-stamp

Brooke Stamp is a Sydney-born dance artist active in the fields of dance, visual art, sound performance, writing, dramaturgy, and education. Stamp holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne and is a recipient of the Creative Australia Cité internationale des arts residency in Paris. Image—Matthew Miceli, courtesy of Performance Space.

OUT OF BOUNDS 2024/APRIL- PHOTOS (3 of 3)For your viewing pleasure – photos from the final 6 works from the April 2024 e...
11/05/2024

OUT OF BOUNDS 2024/APRIL- PHOTOS (3 of 3)

For your viewing pleasure – photos from the final 6 works from the April 2024 edition of OUT OF BOUNDS, captured by Jeff Busby.

Thank you to everyone who came along — we look forward to seeing you again next year.

1. Naavikaran
2. Callum Mooney w/ Angelica Menta, Erin O'Rourke, Jack Birdseye, Jordan Bretherton
3. Ren Milera
4. Ronan Armstrong, Performed by Mathilda Ballantyne, Vourneen NiCainin
5. Daniel R Marks
6. Arabella Frahn-Starkie & Oliver Cox & Samuel Kreusler

OUT OF BOUNDS APRIL/2024- PHOTOS (2 of 3)The 2024 edition of OUT OF BOUNDS was a soulful weekend, bringing together loca...
10/05/2024

OUT OF BOUNDS APRIL/2024- PHOTOS (2 of 3)

The 2024 edition of OUT OF BOUNDS was a soulful weekend, bringing together local independent dance artists, peers and enthusiasts to watch and engage in dialogue about contemporary dance practice over a drink and a cup of tea. With the diverse range of artists taking part, it was delightful to see familiar faces and welcome new audiences to LGI/WXYZ Studios.

Shout out to the staff and production crew at LGI, who warmly invited us into WXYZ Studios and hosted this hive of activity over the weekend. Here are few more images from the event captured by Jeff Busby.

1. Gabriel Sinclair & Jazmyn Carter
2. Gabriella Imrichova, Performed by Anika De Ruyter
3. Gemma Sattler
4. Karlia Cook & Danni Cook
5. Jackie Sheppard
6. Manjusha Manjusha
7. Jack Birdseye & Jel Menta
8. Siobhan Mckenna & Tra Mi Dinh

OUT OF BOUNDS 2024/APRIL- PHOTOS (1 of 3)A huge round of applause for the incredible artists who shared their choreograp...
09/05/2024

OUT OF BOUNDS 2024/APRIL- PHOTOS (1 of 3)

A huge round of applause for the incredible artists who shared their choreographic musings at OUT OF BOUNDS last month. In its 5th iteration in partnership with Lucy Guerin Inc/Temperance Hall, the program provided a platform for 30 lead artists to showcase 10-minute snippets of work and receive critical feedback from industry peers and professionals.

Big thank you to Jeff Busby who captured the artists' performances across the weekend. Here’s a snapshot of some of the presentations—more to come in the next few days!

1. Chiharu Valentino w/ Performer Valentina Emerald and Musician Emma Maguire
2. Aimee Schollum
3. Amélie Logan & Jake Ware
4. Chung Nguyen
5. Rebecca Jensen w/ Performers Anika De Ruyter, Lana Šprajcer
6. Alec Katsourakis w/ Dancers Max Burgess, Alec Katsourakis, Jasmine Susic, Luke Romero
7. Raina Peterson
8. Ebony Olsen & Alyse Canton

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199 Napier Street
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3205

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
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