ESCALATOR

 

Support ESCALATOR on AusArts Day - 22nd October 2026

 
1.4% Cover the Fee

Thank you so much for supporting Stephanie Lake Company! Every donation, of any size, is gratefully received. Feel free to enter any amount you wish or click on the amounts listed here. For large donations please use Direct Debit and contact us to discuss your gift. We'd love to hear from you.

 

Young choreographers rarely get the support to create dance works in well-resourced, professional settings, particularly without the pressure of a full-length presentation. ESCALATOR is designed to bridge the gap between major commissioning programs and studio residencies. It is a supportive and nurturing opportunity for choreographers to test new ideas or reimagine past projects while still presenting their work to a live audience.

 
Each choreographer receives a commissioning fee, plus in-kind support from SLC, including: producing, marketing and production management, studio and performance space, documentation, a lighting designer and mentorship from Stephanie Lake. First presented in 2023, then 2025, both seasons were a sold-out success, putting Naarm/Melbourne’s talent in front of major presenters, industry leaders and broad audiences. Our alumni have gone on to present their works in significant contexts (including The Australian Ballet’s DanceX) as a direct result of our program.

Our AusArt Day target of $10,000 will cover two choreographers' fees. 

ESCALATOR 2025 Images: Mark Gambino & Luke Currie-Richardson

 

“The program…delighted, provoked and moved the audience. Mesmerising.”

- Dance Australia, 2023

ESCALATOR is an important, focused pillar of the Naarm/Melbourne dance community, providing a practical stepping stone between independent practice and larger-scale opportunities.

Presented by Stephanie Lake Company, in association with Abbotsford Convent and Insite Arts International, ESCALATOR showcases the humour, depth, provocations, and sophistication of some of Naarm’s most interesting and diverse dance voices.

ESCALATOR is a biannual emerging choreographers’ program, designed to support, resource and present new short works by the city’s most exciting choreographic talents. Planning to return in 2027, prepare to be taken on a wild journey to unexpected places, via the brains and bodies of our commissioned artists, in the stunning spaces of Abbotsford Convent.

“Prepare to be moved, surprised, delighted, and devastated,” chimes the opening night event program, and in the accelerated span of an hour or so, this ‘ESCALATOR’ proves true. Be extended. Be challenged. Be magnified. Be wigged. Be intensified.”

- Fjord Review, 2023

MEET THE 2025 CHOREOGRAPHERS

Alice Dixon • Carmen Yih
Marni Green • Robert Tinning
Thomas Woodman

Escalator is presented and curated by stephanie lake company. in 2025, the escalator choreographers are also supported by partners Insite arts international.

Stephanie lake company and escalator are supported by creative australia, creative victoria, sidney myer foundation, canny quine foundation, the humanity foundation, and individual donors.

stephanie lake company would like to thank and acknowledge abbotsford convent for all of their support and the australian ballet for providing valuable studio space for our choreographers.