Inside “Acquist”: Choreography, Context & Performance with Cadi McCarthy
Designed for secondary dance teachers and Year 12 ATAR dance students, this in-person professional learning workshop offers an in-depth exploration of Acquist, the prescribed stimulus work for the 2026 written WACE examination.
Facilitated by Acquist choreographer Cadi McCarthy, participants will gain valuable insight into the choreographic intent, creative process, and contextual influences shaping the work. The session will also examine the significance of site-specific performance, and insights into Cadi’s experience working with youth dance. Teachers and students will also learn through practical experience through technique and repertoire drawn directly from Acquist. This is a unique opportunity to deepen analytical understanding while engaging physically with the movement language of the work.
WHEN
9am – 3pm
Saturday 27 June 2026
WHERE
Dance Studio
All Saints College
Ewing Avenue, Bull Creek WA 6149
WHO
Year 11 & 12 Secondary Dance Teachers
Year 11 & 12 ATAR Dance Students
Schedule
9:00am-9:15am Arrive and Sign In
9:15am-10:15am Warm up and contemporary technique
10:15am-10:30am Morning Tea
10:30am-12:00pm Acquist Repertoire
12:00pm-12:45pm Lunch
12:45pm-2:15pm Presentation: Details about the work, insights, Q+A
2:15pm-3:00pm Afternoon Tea, networking, informal chat with Cadi
Book Now
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Inside Acquist – Ausdance Member
$190.00 -
Inside Acquist – Standard
$250.00 -
Inside Acquist – Student
$20.00
About the Choreographer
Cadi McCarthy
Cadi McCarthy been actively engaged in dance as a professional dancer, choreographer, educator and director since 1996. Cadi founded Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub in the NSW regional centre, Newcastle in 2014. In 2015 and 2019, Catapult received Australian Dance Award for Outstanding contribution to Dance.
From 2009 to 2012 Cadi was the Artistic Director of Buzz Dance Theatre. With the company she created 10 full-length works including Behind the Veneer, Restless, Fragile, Stop! Don’t Blink, Goodbye Jamie Boyd (a collaboration between Sydney based theatre company Monkey Baa and Buzz Dance Theatre) and Look the Other Way. In 2014 the work Look the Other Way received an Australian Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth and Community Dance.
As a recipient of a 2007 Churchill Fellowship, Cadi spent time working with dance companies in Denmark, UK, Germany, USA, and Canada. In the same year she was awarded a choreographic residency at Chez Bushwick in New York. In 2009 Cadi travelled to Taiwan as the Australian delegate of the World Dance Alliance, International Choreographic Project.
Previous to this position, she created the independent company Cadi McCarthy & Company in the ACT (2002 – 2009). As an independent artist in Canberra she was the recipient of the 2004 & 2006 Canberra Critics Circle Awards in Dance. She also danced professionally with Paige Gordon and Performance Group (1996 – 1998) and with Buzz Dance Theatre (1998–2001).
Cadi has been heavily engaged with the education sector delivering dance programs, workshops, residencies and professional development opportunities across all age groups: primary, secondary & tertiary. She has been active in the delivery of professional development workshops for teachers and critically engaged in arts curriculum writing in both the ACT and WA.
Flexible and Concession Pricing
At Ausdance WA, we believe that cost should never stand in the way of learning. If ticket prices are a concern, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re dedicated to finding a solution that works for you.
Production Images by Ashley de Prazer
