Artistic Director, Chief Choreographer & Producer - Untitled|Collective (www.untitled-collective.com) Regarded as one of Australia's most innovative early career choreographers, Colless's work has been seen throughout the world. At 27 years old, his choreographic credits are diverse; he has created work for major opera companies, state festivals, universities, musicals, Off-Off Broadway and dance companies. Based between Sydney (Eora Country) and Manhattan, he maintains strong links to his community in Australia. Colless is a descendent of the Dharabuladh (Therabluat) clan of the Gundungurra Nation that encompasses the Blue Mountains region where he was raised— a site now listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO. Colless's work with Untitled|Collective has been staged at Ailey Citigroup Theater (NYC), La MaMa Moves Dance Festival (NYC), Summer Stage Central Park (NYC), The Australian Consulate (NYC), RUBABOO Arts Festival hosted by Alberta Aboriginal Arts (Canada), and more. As a performer, Colless has danced for The Australian Premier of The Who's Tommy, Leigh Warren and Dancers, Gina Rings, Marilyn Miller, Michael Whaites, LINK Dance Company, Battery Dance Company (NYC), C. Eule Dance Company (NYC), Douglas Dunn (NYC) to name a few. Colless is a graduate of Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, Sydney. Throughout his tertiary studies, he was awarded The Commonwealth Learning Scholarship. His formal education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Queensland University of Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). His honours thesis 'Dreaming in Motion' investigated current trends in Indigenous Contemporary dance. It has since been published by Edith Cowen University, and it is noted in the National Library of Australia database. Colless is currently completing a Masters in Dance, his second postgraduate degree, at New York University (NYU) Steinhardt School for Culture, Education, and Human Development. He recipient of the Roberta Sykes Scholarship from the Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation (Australia), he also holds the Dame Joan Sutherland Fellowship from the American Australian Association (USA). While in North America, Colless has endeavored to connect with the Blackfoot, Cree, and Métis peoples. His key mentor in New York is Jock Soto from the Navajo people of North America (former principle of NYC Ballet and teacher at the School of the American Ballet). Colless recently returned from a field study trek in Uganda, East Africa with Deborah Damast and NYU. This venture was generously supported by the America Australia Association's Dame Joan Sutherland Fellowship. He has lectured in dance at the Aboriginal Center for the Performing Arts (Brisbane), the WAAPA Aboriginal Theater Course (Perth), the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA Dance College, Sydney) and NYU Steinhardt. Colless's area of expertise is in multicultural communications and inter-cultural collaborations. He actively promotes international cultural exchange with his home country of Australia. Colless has been an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre (Canada) and PAF, the Performing Arts Forum (France). He has also been commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Australia Council for the Arts, The Ian Potter Cultural Trust, The Foundation for Young Australians, Arts NSW, Ars Musica Australis, the McDonald Foundation Cultural Trust and the Australian Consulate. He was the first modern choreographer to create a work for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Internationally, Colless has performed, choreographed and produced throughout Australia, as well as in China, The Netherlands, Uganda, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Portugal. For more info email: info@untitled-collective.com © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED to Ian RT Colless 2013
