In October of 2017 Frankie Snowdon and Madeleine Krenek from Alice Springs arrived at Tracks for a week of mentorship. They had been successful in gaining a Strategic Arts Grant from Arts NT for Independent Producers/ Curators. With the aim of creating a Strategic Business Plan for themselves many hours were spent working through the how and whys of setting up their own dance company in Alice Springs.

Frankie and Madeleine have a broad and inclusive vision for dance in Alice Springs, from a community participatory level to an experimental contemporary dance practice. Over the past few years their collaborative work has gone from strength to strength, building strong connections and audiences within the community, seen particularly in their annual schools project Alice Can Dance and the successful premiere of The Perception Experiment this year at the Araluen Centre, which brought together a team of local, Territory, and interstate artists.

“It is really exciting seeing the rising of the next generation of Territory artists. David and I are proud to be mentoring Frankie and Madeleine in the early stages of this venture. It has been a healthy process for us all reflecting on the knowledge we have built up over the past three decades. With David and I choosing to be Artistic Co Directors, having a strong belief in collaboration and wanting to create a significant regional Australian company with rich community relationships there was much for us to talk about.”  Tim Newth - Artistic Co Director

"This was a rare opportunity for me to be present and involved in the process of imagining and breathing life into a new NT-based dance organisation. Having collaborated with Frankie and Maddy on their project The Perception Experiment, I already had a sense of their creative drive and passion but this residency showed me a new side to their artistic partnership - their willingness to dive in and tackle the difficult topics like legal matters, strategic planning and funding; the scope and breadth of their vision for dance practice in Alice Springs; and their thirst to learn and grow alongside an organisation for dance investigation, creation and exchange that they are not only dreaming up but also doing the hard yakka to make happen." Kelly Beneforti - Dance Animateur