Pitch Lab and Make It Happen are delivered in partnership with Dance Makers Collective.
PITCH LAB
Collective Making Intensive
Facilitated by Dance Makers Collective Co-Director Miranda Wheen
Dates: 29 June - 3 July
Pitch Lab is a week-long intensive that brings together professional independent dance artists with DMC Co-director Miranda Wheen, to explore and share ideas and processes in a collaborative environment. Artists who participate in Pitch Lab are treated like DMC artists and so, in the spirit of collective-led decision making, will not only collaborate in the room together, but will collaboratively design the intensive in response to the needs and aspirations of the group.
Pitch Lab provides an environment:
to refine skills in collective decision-making and working collaboratively
to pitch and test new ideas
to practice the art of articulating ideas and participating in other people’s ideas
for collective ideas to emerge
to facilitate the consolidation of ideas
DMC is a democratic organisation, with a co-led director structure, which means the work we make is for the collective benefit of those involved and their intended communities. For Pitch Lab, we are seeking expressions of interest from dance makers who wish to contribute to this collective-led process.
About the Facilitator
Miranda Wheen is an independent dancer and choreographer based on Dharug Country in Sydney. Rooted in contemporary dance, her practice weaves intercultural collaboration, community-engaged arts, teaching, advocacy, and dramaturgy.
She is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director of Dance Makers Collective (DMC), where she has choreographed all their major works, including DADS(shortlisted for an Australian Dance Award), The Rivoli (commissioned by Sydney Festival 2020, toured nationally 2022/23), The Saturday Night Social (winner of PAC Australia’s Impact Award), and All In (set for major national touring in 2026).
Since 2017, Miranda has been an Associate Artist with Marrugeku, Australia’s leading indigenous intercultural dance theatre company, performing in Cut The Sky, Burrbgaja Yalirra, Le Dernier Appel, and Jurrungu Ngan-ga (winner of a Green Room Award for Best Ensemble and two Performing Arts WA awards).
Her collaborators span the spectrum of Australian dance including a long-standing relationship with choreographer Martin Del Amo (working as Artistic Associate on his Australian Dance Award winning Champions), and work with Stalker Theatre, Shaun Parker and Company, Mirramu Dance Company, Restless Dance Theatre, Ghenoa Gela, Julie-Anne Long, Rakini Devi, Liz Lea, Cadi McCarthy and Tsai Jui-Yueh Dance Foundation.
Miranda is a committed advocate for the independent dance sector and was named as one of Creative Australia’s 2024/25 Creative Leadership cohort. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the DMC Board and was a member of FORM Dance Projects board for six years.
She regularly teaches at DMC and Sydney Dance Company, including choreographing two major works for SDC’s Pre-Professional Year. She is also a support and mentor for DMC’s emerging artist ensemble Future Makers. Miranda holds First Class Honours from Macquarie University, a Dean’s Medal from Western Sydney University, and trained in Traditional and Contemporary African Dance at L’École des Sables in Senegal.
Dates: 29 June - 3 July
Registration info to come.
Make It Happen
Skills Development Program
Facilitated by Dance Makers Collective’s General Manager Carl Sciberras
Date: 4 July
Make It Happen is a professional development program for creative practitioners and producers to refine their skills in making project or program ideas happen. This program starts by posing the questions: “why this project; who is it for; and how will we achieve it?” Moving through this chain of questions, participants come out the other side with a holistic understanding of how to then go forth and ‘make it happen’!
This full-day intensive version is scaffolded in three x two hour modules, with breaks in between.
The three modules are:
Situating your creative projects in a wider context: systems and design thinking principles.
Relationship management: the importance of understanding your stakeholders and working with them
Project management principles: how to plan and deliver your creative project
Make It Happen has been delivered across Australia to more than 100 self-producing artists, 90% of whom would recommend others do it, the other 10% say they ‘might’ recommend others do it.
“Carl is an expert in this area that delivers a program like nothing else that is currently being delivered. His balance of authenticity, experience and generosity allow it to be a space where all artists can speak, question and be heard. I personally was left with clear pathways to go a produce work and am richer from the opportunity to collaborate with such a diverse group of artists.” - Program participant
About the Facilitator
Carl Sciberras (he/him) is an arts executive, dancer, choreographer, teacher, business advisor and producer from Western Sydney. Carl has a Master of Fine Arts (Cultural Leadership) from NIDA, a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) from WAAPA and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Writing and Cultural Studies) from UTS. Carl is the General Manager and a Co-Founder of Dance Makers Collective, Australia’s largest and leading Collective-led dance company.
Carl recently co-authored the Independent Dance Sector Report (2024) and was commissioned by Meanjin to write The Year in Dance, published in its 2025 Winter edition. Carl is an alumni of Creative Australia’s leadership programs including the Collaboration Fund (2024), Australian Progress (2023) and the Future Leaders Program (2017). In 2016, Carl was awarded the City of Parramatta’s Creative Fellowship and in 2018 was presented a Highly Commended Award by the City of Parramatta’s Australia Day Awards Committee for his contribution to the arts in the region. Carl also co-founded Flatline, a visual art and dance collaboration that creates performance, installation and art works that have been presented internationally.
As an artist, Carl’s work has been described as “beautifully cathartic” and his performance style “fluid and princely, rippling and sculptural.” Carl’s independent works have appeared at PACT Centre for Emerging Artists, Metro Arts, Riverside Theatres, First Draft, Art Est, The National Centre for Drawing, BEAMS Festival, White Night Melbourne, Home Brew Festival, and Sydney Fringe Festival.
Carl was the Interim Managing Director of PYT Fairfield in 2021. From 2012-2015, Carl worked as the Marketing, Program and Education Coordinator at FORM Dance Projects. Carl also worked as a Project and Engagement Coordinator at Create NSW (2020) and as Venue and Administration Manager for Legs On The Wall (2018).
Dates: 4 July
Registration info to come.