Dance Mania
Two-Day School Holiday Intensive
Ever dreamt of dancing on one of Sydney Opera House's world-renowned stages? Make a young dancer’s dreams come true with our special School Holiday dance experience where ballet, contemporary and hip hop collide in a beautiful dance explosion!
In the Centre for Creativity | School holiday workshop
COVID-19 safety information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained, and please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
Recommended for children ages 9 - 11
This workshop is for children aged 9 - 11 of all skills, abilities & genders.
Please note this workshop is for children only. Parents and carers can drop off and pick up their children promptly at the workshop start and end times from the Centre for Creativity. Following booking, parents/carers will receive a supervision consent form to complete and return to the Opera House Learning Team.
Pre-sale and on-sale information
Pre-sale timings:
- Insider Member Priority – Tuesday 18 October, 9am
- What's on Priority sale – Wednesday 19 October, 9am
General public on sale Friday 21 October, 9am
Tuesday 17 January and Wednesday 18 January 2023
Tuesday 17 January, 10am - 4pm and Wednesday 18 January, 10am - 4pm
This event runs across 2 days, 6 hours per day and includes tea and lunch breaks. Parents and carers are required to pick up their children promptly at 4pm.
Standard tickets from $250 | $8.50 Booking Fee applies per transaction | Sydney Opera House is also registered as a Creative Kids provider
Ticket | Description & price |
All tickets | |
Standard | $250 |
To use your Creative Kids voucher for this workshop in conjunction with a performance, click here.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the FAQ below. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
The event is over 2 days, 6 hours per day
This event runs across 2 days, 6 hours per day and includes tea and lunch breaks. Parents and carers are required to pick up their children promptly at 4pm.
What to bring on the day
Please bring snacks, lunch and a refillable water bottle. We encourage children to bring sunscreen and a hat should we sit outside for lunch. As this is a dance workshop, please wear something comfortable to move in (you're welcome to bring a costume if you like!)
Collaborate, design and perform your own work
Make a young dancer’s dreams come true with our special School Holiday dance experience where ballet, contemporary and hip hop collide in a beautiful dance explosion! Young creators will collaborate, design and perform their own work in costumes with live music in one of the world’s greatest performing arts centres.
In this 2-day workshop, we welcome both budding beginners and more experienced dancers to learn simple improvisation, composition and how to make a dance performance. Kids will learn new movement skills from a range of dance styles – from Hip Hop, capoeira, and contemporary dance, to classical ballet and gain methods for combining them creatively. The two-days will conclude with a performance by participants for their family and friends, which will be followed by Q&A with the artists
Workshop dancers are encouraged to bring their favourite dance costumes from home, or dress up with our Sydney Opera House costumes!
Presented by Sydney Opera House
Meet the Artists
Charemaine Seet
Charemaine is a dance artist and educator straddling postmodern dance and street dance practice. Her contemporary dance school, Seet Dance, is primarily concerned with de-centring contemporary dance away from Western aesthetics. Her practice explores intersections of dance as movement, learning, arts, writing and research.
Charemaine was principal dancer and choreographer for Union Dance in London, a scholarship student with Merce Cunningham in New York and a soloist with Doug Elkins Dance Co. She continues to collaborate with Elkins, a multi-award winning choreographer who pioneered the merging of street and postmodern dance.
Charemaine’s ongoing expanded choreographic project, in which she recreates iconic moments of contemporary dance in LEGO, was exhibited at the Conference for Research on Choreographic Interfaces 2020, Brown University.
Reina Takeuchi
Reina Takeuchi is an Australian-Japanese artist-researcher, curator and dance maker interested in interdisciplinary collaboration. Influenced by her experiences living peripatetically across East and Southeast Asia during her youth, Takeuchi uses an auto-ethnographic approach to her art/performance processes. Her practice spans across visual arts, choreography, curatorial projects, written publications and creative facilitation.
Her performance projects have included installations at Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria, and performances for Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, Performance Space, and the Museum of Contemporary Art's Late program. Most recently she is a member of the CP[3] program supported by Dance Nucleus, Readymade Studios & Critical Path, for the development of critical praxes in contemporary choreography and performance making, with a focus on the Asian context. Takeuchi holds a Master of Philosophy in Creative Practice from QUT, Advanced Diploma in Dance Performance from the Sydney Dance Company Pre-Professional Year 2019 and is currently a PhD candidate at QUT, focussing on Asia-Pacific performance and curatorial projects.
DJ D
Australia’s premiere female Turntablist, DJ D has been dubbed the first lady in a number of arenas, with a reputable career as a DJ/Turntablist since 1998, she played her first gig in 1988. DJ D is known for her achievements in the DMC World DJ Championships, having placed:-5thin the all vinyl world finals in 2022as the first lady to represent Australia at world level and with the first all 45s set this competition has seen;-4th in Australian national finals 2021, with her experimental talk box turntable;-8th in Australian national finals 2020 with her world first hydraulic 1200 turntable;-3rd in the NSW heats in 2015 as only female competitor;-8th in Australian national finals 2005 as only female competitor. DJ D produces 2 of the nation’s first nonstop DJ mixed radio shows on CRN weekly. Her experience on air, on tour and in her 1964Chevrolet Impala has seen her host to a number of artists including Xzibit, Naughty By Nature, Montell Jordan, Black street, Ryan Leslie, Jon B, Horace Brown, Tank, Jodeci, B.B.D, 112, Redman, D.O.C., Spice 1,Tha Alkaholiks, Masta Ace, DJ Yella, Green Lantern, DJ Jam & DJ Maseo + more.
Venue Information
The Centre for Creativity will adhere to a maximum capacity of 1 person per two square metres, in line with the current NSW Public Health Order.
Our foyers will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Transport options
- We encourage you to use private transport options to minimise crowding on public transport (in line with NSW Government advice).
- The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
- Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel and COVID-19 safety measures. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a 6 min walk to the Opera House.
Who is this workshop suited to?
This workshop is recommended for children aged 9 - 11. Please note this workshop is for children only. Parents and carers will drop off and pick up their children promptly at the workshop start and end times from the Centre for Creativity.
Following booking, parents/carers will receive a supervision consent form to complete and return to the Opera House Learning Team.
Does my child need to wear a face mask?
Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.
What should I bring on the day?
As this is a dance workshop, please wear something comfortable to move in (you're welcome to bring a costume if you like!). Please also bring a water bottle.
Where is the installation/workshop located?
The workshop is in our new Centre for Creativity at the end of the Western foyers, near the entrance to the Drama Theatre.
What if I am late for the installation/ workshop?
We will start promptly at the workshop time, however as this is a drop-in session, so don't worry too much if you are late, just make your way to the Centre for Creativity and someone will bring you up to speed.
Frequently Asked Questions - Performance & Venue
What time do I need to arrive before the event?
We advise that you arrive 15 minutes prior to the event. Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts.
I have access needs. How can the Opera House support me?
Please advise us upon booking if you have any particular learning or mobility needs for us to support
Are there change tables in the Centre for Creativity?
Change tables and Nappy bins are available in the Centre for Creativity, as well as the accessible public toilets in the below locations.
Western Foyers
Lower level of the Concourse
Main Box Office accessible toilets
Concert Hall Northern Foyer (both Male and Female)
Does my child need to wear a face mask?
Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.
Will there be pram parking at kids performances?
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Where does this event/workshop/installation happen?
The workshop happens in our new Centre for Creativity at the end of the Western foyers, near the entrance to the Drama Theatre
Who are the authorised ticket sellers for this event?
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
What if I can't come to the event?
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you, find out more information here.
Can my baby sit on my lap?
If you'd like to bring your baby to one of our activities that is not baby focused, your baby may sit on your lap during the activity. Please note unless this is a baby-specific activity there is minimum pram parking onsite. Your baby will require a babes-in-arms ticket as they contribute to our venue capacities.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times. Babies aged 0-2 years old at the time of a performance may be seated on an adult’s lap. Children 2 years and older will need to hold a standard ticket.
Will there be food and beverages available to be purchased in the venue?
Food and beverages will not be allowed in the Centre for Creativity unless specified in the event. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available to purchase food before your event. Please bring a credit or debit card for any on-site purchases to enable contactless payment.
Will there be bag checks, and is cloaking available?
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer or as directed by Sydney Opera House staff, adhering to COVID-safe rules.
Can I smoke at the Opera House?
- The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House will become a smoke-free site from Saturday 1 January 2022.
- By becoming a smoke-free site, the Opera House seeks to reduce exposure to harmful second-hand smoke, as well as minimise the impact of smoking on the environment, including litter and pollution of the surrounding marine environment.
What safety measures have you implemented?
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.
What am I required to do as an audience member?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 metres whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage.
Within venues, always take your allocated seat.
For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.
Do I need to be vaccinated to visit the Sydney Opera House?
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Am I required to wear a mask?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
How are you managing contact tracing?
Contact information is required when making a booking with us and upon arrival at the Opera House, as set out in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events and our Customer Privacy Statement.
As the ticket purchaser, you are responsible for recording the contact details of your guests. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of contact tracing, if required, and will be deleted at least 28 days after your event.
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