The Compositions Commission – 2025 EOI
COMMISSIONING NEW SOUND & MOVEMENT

The Compositions Commission has been created to inspire collaborations between music/sound artists and choreographers to create new kinds of sonic/choreographic works.
The Commission’s emphasis is on innovation: new sonic/movement forms, brave experimentation, new collaborations, cross arts fusion and practice and deepening creative relationships to evolve what we hear, see, and experience in live performance works.
The Compositions Commission is offered annually and provides an equal commission to both a music/sound artist, and a choreographer, alongside an additional project budget to spend on their work. The project budget may support collaborators (performers, dancers, musicians, equipment or design), production and technical equipment, or travel support.
What’s on offer
One project will be commissioned by Dancehouse from expressions of interest and will be selected by a panel of independent sound and dance artists.
The Commission will receive:
- A $5,000 commission for a choreographer;
- A $5,000 commission for a music/ sound artist;
- An additional project budget of $3,000 to be allocated as required i.e. dancers, musicians, equipment hire, travel costs;
- Superannuation on all fees;
- Up to 2 weeks of in-kind space at Dancehouse;
- Priority consideration for the work for Dancehouse presentations.
Dancehouse will work with the selected project team to contract, budget, and project manage the Commission under the selected artists’ direction.
Any presentation opportunities following the Commission at Dancehouse will be negotiated on top of the Commission.
Who is this for
The Compositions Commission is open to any partnership between a movement artist and a sound artist. Both must be named and confirmed when applying. Both new and existing collaborations are welcome.
The invited project will outline how sound and choreography inform and influence each other. All artists applying for the Commission will be able to evidence a body of live performance work for audiences.
The Composition Commission must explore something new and innovative. This innovation may include either:
- A new collaboration and relationship between sound and dance artists; or
- An existing collaboration and relationship but working with new experiments, fusions, evolutions, or territories in both sound and choreography.
The Compositions Commission can be for any stage of a new project. Ideally, the project will have ambitions for future presentation at Dancehouse.
All dance forms and practices, and all music and sound forms and practices are welcome.
Projects that will appeal to both dance and sound/ music audiences are encouraged.
How to apply
The Compositions Commission invites Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a single project.
The EOI requests a single 2-page document (Word or PDF only) including links of support material.
The 2-page document can be written in the way that best suits your project. As a guide:
- 1 page should outline the project idea; and
- 1 page will include information about the artists including links to previous works, materials, and/ or research on the project;
The project should consider a presentation at Dancehouse as a future outcome.
The EOI form uses Airtable (you don’t need to log-in or set-up an account). The Airtable form requires some basic contact information and then requires you to upload your single 2-page document.
Some prompts when writing the expression of interest:
- What is innovative or new about this Commission both in terms of music/sound and choreography?
- How will the project or relationship evolve over the Commission?
- What stage is the project at: research, creative development, or rehearsal into presentation?
- If this is a new collaboration, why do you want to work together? If it is an existing collaboration, how are you pursuing a new direction with this commission?
- How will you collaborate? What are you planning to do? Where are you based? How do you plan to develop the project? How might you use your project budget allocation (on collaborators, technology or equipment?)
- Why is this project exciting for you, potential audiences, and Dancehouse?
- Who are you as artists? How are you pursuing new approaches to your practice with this Commission?
- Please include accessible hyperlinks within your document (with passwords if applicable). These hyperlinks may be to previous works, websites, video footage, recordings, audio samples, or documentation which is reflective of the style of your works, practices, research, or the direction of your proposed project.
A budget is not required as part of this expression of interest.
Within 24 hours of the closing date, Dancehouse will notify all applicants to confirm receipt of your expression of interest.
Selection Process
After all Expressions of Interest are received, Dancehouse will engage 4 independent artists (2 dance, 2 music/ sound artists) to appraise the projects.
The selected Commission will:
- Have incredible innovation in sound/music and choreography;
- Be an exciting potential project for both dance and sound audiences;
- Engage talented collaborators capable of creating a new live performance work; and
Be viable with strong potential to be developed into work and to be presented by Dancehouse and other interested partners in the future.
Things to note
- The Commission must be undertaken in the 2025 calendar year. But how the Commission is structured is at the discretion of the artists e.g. individually with meetings and sharings, full-time together for two weeks, or 1 day monthly over the year.
- The Commissioned artists are required to present an informal showing for Dancehouse, independent artist commissioners, and selected guests to attend at the end of their project.
- This iteration of the Commission is for resident Victorian artists. Collaborators based interstate are welcome but travel, accommodation and per diems are not available through Commission funds.
- The Commission may leverage or contribute existing resources, residencies or funds towards the project.
- Space and venue hire costs may need to be paid for within the project budget allocation if Dancehouse spaces are not convenient or available for the commissioned artists.
- The Commission can be for any type of live performance work: performance, installation, durational, screendance, multimedia, one-off event or participative project. The final work does not need to be of a standard duration (60 mins) — quality of material is more important than length.
- All music/sound and dance forms are welcome to apply.
Key Dates
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST OPEN / Monday 7 October 2024
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CLOSE / 11.59pm on Thursday 7th November 2024
OUTCOMES ADVISED BY / Friday 6 December 2024
COMMISSIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN / Throughout 2025
Contact
Please direct any questions to the Dancehouse Artistic Director/ CEO: [email protected] or 03 9347 2860