Dancehouse invites Australian independent dance artists to propose projects for Dancehouse’s 2026 seasons (and beyond)

Dancehouse 2026 Seasons 

Dancehouse seasons are clusters of presentations (productions, exhibitions, talks and events) that invite audiences to experience and appreciate dance.

Dancehouse seasons are a deliberate mix of artistic voices, styles, genres and works: from new works to remounts; projects by emerging and established artists; from pure movement to expanded choreographies; from projects about dance to projects that involve audiences dancing; theatrical black box productions to white box installations; improvisation nights to all style battles. All dance is welcome.

Dancehouse has produced and presented 2-4 seasons of work annually since 2022 with a focus on Australian independent artists’ works. Each season consists of four to eight curated productions or events ranging in genre, scale and style. These seasons continue in 2026 and beyond and we welcome project ideas by Australian independent dance artists for consideration.

We’ve included more information about how our seasons come together, and what Dancehouse offers below. 

This invitation is for live-performance projects that are ready for a professional presentation outcome to an audience or community. 

Please find information on other opportunities at Dancehouse (such as works in development, Melbourne Fringe and screendance) at the end of this document.

Dancehouse is accepting proposals for 2026 seasons up to 11:59pm, Monday 14 April 2025.

Dancehouse Offers

Dancehouse seasons support projects’ presentations including:

1. An all inclusive presentation fee based informed by the expected box office/ earned income for the project;
2. Use of Dancehouse venue and spaces for the presentation;
3. Seating bank with a configuration to be agreed and set by Dancehouse in negotiation with all project teams in a season;
4. Basic production and technical costs including a shared season allocation for equipment hire and use;
5. Dancehouse provides technical support, including bump-in/out labor and a shared season allocation for technical operators. Additional operators may be available upon negotiation. Artists are encouraged to outline their lighting, sound, AV, and staging requirements, and Dancehouse will work collaboratively to finalize feasible technical setups within the season’s shared resources.
6. Front of House ushers, staff and venue supervision in season;
7. Marketing including website listings, e-news, invitations and social promotions.

Presentation Fee Offers
In 2026, Dancehouse will offer a minimum $3,000 presentation fee PLUS the expected earned income (or expected box office sales) for the project at Dancehouse. 

Dancehouse’s spaces in season have capacities ranging from 50-120 and box office calculations and artists expectations of fees should be based around both this and the expectation of a minimum four show season of performances in relation to the context of the work.

From time to time, Dancehouse may increase the presentation fee above the box office potential if the project is contextualised via other festivals or events or is a co-presented or co-commissioned work.

Presentation fees are paid to artists in milestone payments. 

Regionally-based and interstate artists will be offered additional travel and accommodation support.

Dancehouse retains 100% of box office receipts for all in season projects.

Submit a Project Idea

Please send your project to Dancehouse using the ‘Submit’ button on this page.

Sending a project idea is simple: we ask for the lead artists’ contact details and for a single attachment of your proposal as either a document (max 2 pages) or a video file (max 5-10 mins). 

Dancehouse will confirm receipt of all projects by COB Friday 05 May 2025.

For more information on what to include in your proposal, project types, spaces, capacity and eligibility, please ensure you read the full invitation.

Read the Full Invitation

Other Dancehouse Opportunities

This invitation is for live-performance projects at, or on-track for, a professional presentation outcome to an audience or community. 

There may be other, better aligned contexts for you or your project including:

• Screendance projects should consider Dance (Lens)
• Melbourne Fringe projects should express interest via the Melbourne Fringe X Dancehouse EOI