Samuel Gaskin speaks with Yvette Lee and Sophia Laryea delving into being a person of colour making your mark in the Australian dance and entertainment community. They talked about inclusion inspiration and appreciation.

Both Yvette Lee and Sophia Laryea were 2020 panelists for the Artists of Colour Initiative (AOC), scholarship program.

Yvette Lee

Yvette Lee has worked for over a decade as a Choreographer, creative and performance producer. Covering all aspects from television, film, theatre & live events her versatility has seen her choreograph in all arenas of the entertainment industry.

Yvette’s television credits include Dancing with Stars 2015 & 2016 (FREMANTLE MEDIA), The big Music Quiz (ENDAMOL SHINE), Dance Hero Japan (DANCE ALIVE TV), Asia’s Got Talent (FREMANTLE ASIA- Asst to the Squared Division), So You Think You Can Dance(FREMANTLE MEDIA), China’s Next Top Model (STAR WORLD), Ja’mie Private School Girl (PRINCESS PICTURES), Jonah from Tonga (PRINCESS PICTURES), Australian Idol (FREMANTLE MEDIA), Neighbours (FREMANTLE MEDIA), The Pacific (HBO), Cosentino - The Grand Illusionist, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, , ARIA Awards, The Taiwanese Wiggles (THE DISNEY CHANNEL).
Yvette has choreographed musical theatre productions such as ‘In the Heights’ (STAGE ART), Moonshadow (SUE FARRELLY PRODUCTIONS - world premiere), Rock of Ages (NEW THEATRICALS - Resident Chor & Dir), Song Contest (GLYNN NICHOLAS), Refer Madness (RL PRODUCTIONS), The Carnival of Lost Souls (MELBA SPIEGELTENT) The Little Matchgirl (MALTHOUSE), Shout - The Legend of the Wild One (TIM LAWSON PRODUCTIONS - Asst Chor) Dusty - The Original Pop Diva (Asst Chor), Sweet Charity (Asst Chor), Managing Carmen, and Just the Ticket.

Her music industry credits include choreography for major music labels Sony, Universal & Warner for artists such as Aston Merrygold, Guy Sebastian, Zara Larsson, Samantha Jade, Cyrus, Illy & Vera Blue, Bonnie Anderson, Dylan Joel, Josh Groban, Ricki Lee, Tim Campbell and Bobby Fox.

Yvette has provided opportunities for dancers of all ages and is much respected across the industry, for her passion. Yvette is the Artistic Director of the Victorian Dance Festival (VDF).

Sophia Laryea

Sophia Laryea is a stand out Artist who is in constant demand as an actress, dancer, model and musical theatre performer.

Sophia’s journey began with training in all styles of dance and performance at Patricks Studios in Melbourne, followed by a summer intensive course in New York City at the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. After graduating at the age of 18, Sophia made her musical theatre debut touring Australia in Disney’s The Lion King.

She has also performed as a dancer with ‘Cabaret de Paris’ in Sydney and on The Gold Coast, worked with recording Artists including PNAU and Jessica Mauboy and danced on screen on Channel 7’s Australia’s Got Talent.

In the fashion world, Sophia is constantly booking shoots and appearances, modelling for international labels including Puma, Running Bare, Myer, Bendon, Havaianas and Seafolly.

However, it is Sophia’s on screen presence and acting ability that now sets her apart from the crowd. Sophia has featured in television and cinema advertising campaigns for Bonds, TKMaxx, Westpac, Virgin Mobile, Uber, Jay Jays and Kmart, with a lead speaking role in the 2017 L’Oreal ‘True Match’ TVC.

2017 was also the year that Sophia shot her first feature film playing one of the “Sakaarian Girlfriends” in Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok.

Samuel Gaskin

Samuel Gaskin is commercial dancer and successful singer/songwriter. Hailing from African, New Zealand and European roots, Samuel has always been one to stand out in a crowd.

Samuel is passionate about uplifting and inspiring the next generation of performers and facilitates Masterclasses & workshops for Ausdance & Chunky Move he also helped roll out the “Diversity in Theatre” program for the VCA & Melbourne University. He is proud to sit on the National Performers committee for MEAA as the Victorian Vice President and also works as a speaker for Beyond Blue sharing his journey with mental health and well being. Sam is the Managing Director of Beat Entertainment.

Find more about Samuel’s work here and you can read a text that he wrote for Delving into Dance in March 2020 here.

Featured

Dalisa Pigram

‘We value everyone equally, but you know, of course each person has a role to play in the team that's been created, but no one is, you know, less valuable than another.’

Daniel Riley

‘My daughter Billie, she was in rehearsal today. My son Archie grew up the first two or three years of his life, like, on tour with me when I was with Bangarra Dance Theatre and just being in the artistic environment and being surrounded by people is such a beautiful gift, I think, that I can give to them as well.’

Antony Hamilton

‘When I'm making dance and when I think about choreography or art, I often relate my early childhood experiences to the things that I make now as well.’

Alice Topp

‘I guess for a lot of people, ballet is still very much an evolving, developing language. I think people think it was probably stuck in a time and hasn't progressed. But modern ballet is very challenging and arresting and it's finding new ways of working with an old structure.’

On a Dancing*

Do you prefer clarity to nuance?
Are clarity and dynamism mutually exclusive?

Samuel Gaskin speaks with Yvette Lee and Sophia Laryea

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman

‘In my hibernation my creativity turned to writing. I spent hours happily at my computer with my writing, which sometimes feels like choreography. The results of these writing hours are some rough chapters recounting special experiences of my life, and in particular, my life here at Mirramu.’

Lillian Crombie

‘Now your got this time work on your dreams’

Gregory Vuyani Maqoma

‘So I've been refusing the temptation to put work on online to put work on platforms where they eliminate that very core function of connecting people’

Edna Reinhardt

Edna Reinhardt, a passionate creative dance and yoga educator with decades of experience in the field.

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