DAIR (Dance Artist in Residence) program is a direct response to Ausdance’s goals; to champion, to support, to advocate, and to promote artists and the ongoing challenges of access to affordable and appropriate spaces for dance artists for the development of new work and practice based research. DAIR aims to build on relationships and collaborations, creating opportunities for both artists and venue partners engaging the sector and building capacity in the research and creation of new work. DAIR has offered space residencies at various partner venues for members of Ausdance NSW who are independent dance artists, collectives or companies since 2013. DAIR involves creative development, research, mentorship, rehearsal and remounting of work.

Big Dance is the largest FREE special celebration of dance in the world and was held for the first time in Australia, on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on Sunday the 13th of July. 2000 dancers of all ages and abilities participated. Big Dance is Ausdance NSW’s platform for participatory dance that is large scale, site specific and artist/ community led. Big Dance combines the ritual of gathering in public en masse with dance as a unifying and highly visible practice of social and artistic cohesion. Big Dance is a successful program with a track record for delivering high quality, site specific dance. Big Dance reimagines what dance is in contemporary Australia, engages new audiences and commissions new choreographic works.