STAFF

Phillip Adams, Artistic Director

Phillip Adams' career in dance and performance spans over 25 years as a vital contributor to the richness of Australian performing arts. Adams' works provide a crucial point of differentiation: an alternative modality, fearless choreographic practice and risk-taking approach to creation and presentation.

Adams’ process draws on collaboration through hybrid mediums of music, design, fashion, architecture, cinema, visual arts and photography engaging with the unorthodox, queer and popular culture. Phillip's process defines a model and a psychologically generative, collaborative environment that continually extends the parameters of dance and visual art-based practise to produce bold artistic choreography and artworks.

Adams is a graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1988 and thereafter spent a decade performing and working in New York with many companies and independent choreographers.  Adams returned to Australia in 1997 and established his company Phillip Adams BalletLab. Adams has created 20 major works for BalletLab presented internationally and leading Festival and venues in the USA Europe and Asia. Commissions include: The Australian Ballet, Chunky Move, Back to Back Theatre, Lux Boreal (Mexico) Guongdong Modern Dance Company (China), Dance Works Rotterdam (Nederland’s), City Contemporary Dance Company (Hong Kong), Niteroi City Ballet (Brazil). Adams works have been presented  by Museum of Old and New Art, Heide Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Victoria, and awarded a design for the Melbourne Art Tram series. Recently Phillip won the 2018 Australia Council Award for Dance.

luke george, Artistic associate

Artistic Associate, Curator, Artist: Luke George (lutruwita -Tasmania, 1978) creates new choreographic and visual work that takes daring and at times, unorthodox methods, to explore new intimacies and connections between artist and audience. Luke’s artistic practice is informed by queer politics, whereby people are neither singular nor isolated; bodies of difference can intersect, practice mutual listening, take responsibility for themselves and one another. Based in Narrm (Melbourne), Luke creates, performs and collaborates with artists and the public across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. In 2019 Luke was recipient of an Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship and premiered new works in Dance Massive and the Venice Biennale. In 2020 Luke was appointed Artistic Associate of Temperance Hall and to the Co-Design Consultation Group for a dedicated Melbourne dance festival. In 2021, Luke is presenting performance commissions for the National Galleries of both Victoria and Singapore, the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Arts (Sydney), and a permanent design installation commissioned for Melbourne’s newly built Victorian Pride Centre.

Find out more: lukegeorge.net/

anna mcdermott, program producer

Anna McDermott is a multidisciplinary artist and writer with experience working in venue management and art-related contexts. Her installation and performative-based practice employs photographic, filmic, sound and sculptural mediums to choreograph spaces for bodies to navigate. Anna joined Temperance Hall in 2021 as the Venue and Operations Coordinator, and now manages the delivery of Temperance Hall's artistic program. 

In 2020 Anna graduated from the Masters of Contemporary Art program at the Victorian College of the Arts, for which she was awarded the Fiona Myer Art and Australia Internship. In the year after graduating from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours), she was awarded the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Works of Excellence, and undertook an artist in residency program at Takt AIR Berlin, Germany. 

Anna has exhibited in various art spaces across Australia, including: Kings ARI (Melbourne), Sawtooth ARI (Launceston), 107 Projects (Sydney), Alternating Current Art Space (Melbourne), 45 Downstairs (Melbourne), Darwin Visual Arts (Darwin), Bus Projects (Melbourne, Online) and Blindside Gallery (Melbourne, Online). Anna is interested in the poetic languages of the body, space, touch, spoken word and favours artistic encounters that privilege intuitive, embodied receptions.

LUKE FRYER, Venue and COMMUNICATIONS Coordinator

Luke Fryer is a Naarm/Melbourne based independent dance artist and arts worker. As a VCA BFA Dance graduate, he has predominantly worked with choreographer Shelley Lasica in works including If I Don’t Understand You  (Melbourne Fringe, Temperance Hall, 2019) and more recently When I Am Not There (MUMA, 2022 & AGNSW, 2023). Through developments and short-term projects, Luke has further worked with independent makers Phoebe Robinson, Oliver Savariego, Phillip Adams and Alice Will Caroline. His engagement with movement has previously been supported through residencies at Lucy Guerin Inc., QL2 Centre for Youth Dance (Canberra) and Temperance Hall where he has developed work solo, as well as collectively with fellow artists Emma Riches and Benjamin Hurley. 

Fryer has just completed a Master of Arts and Cultural Management through the University of Melbourne, whilst working casually between performing arts organisations like Arts Centre Melbourne, Dancehouse and Temperance Hall. He was a 2023 Programming Summer Work Placement for Midsumma Festival in which he assisted in the curation and delivery of Midsumma Carnival and Pride March alongside the programming team. Luke is continually working to develop his interests which fall at the intersection of artistic practice, production, and communication of the performing arts.

WILLIAM McBride, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

William is an artist and writer working in dance and performance across Naarm/Melbourne, notably as part of dance collective Alice Will Caroline. Since 2018, he has worked as a performer and choreographer at Temperance Hall across three productions.

He is an active member of Melbourne’s independent dance communities and an advocate for independent artists. In addition to 15+ years’ experience as a practising artist, he comes to the role as a professional writer and consultant for arts organisations, businesses and government agencies.

“Temperance Hall and BalletLab embody an enduring spirit of artistic experimentation, rebellion, uncertainty and play, that is extremely valuable to the courageous and contentious act of art making. “I am very happy to join the core team and to contribute my energy to this mischievous and brilliant organisation, which hosts artworks and performances you won’t find anywhere else" says William.

BOARD

Company in residence, Phillip Adams BalletLab is a vital part of Temperance Hall. BalletLab’s Board brings specialised skills to augment the management team, providing oversight and governance across all company operations.

Randal Patterson – CHAIR

Executive Director, Infrastructure and Utilities, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

"As Chair of PABL and a member of the Board for 4 years, I am proud to work with passionate and creative people that make a difference to our community through performance art. PABL exemplifies innovation and risk taking and is a source of inspiration to many."

Randal is currently Executive Director, Real Estate and Infrastructure with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He arranges funding for major clients of the Bank where he provides strategic advice and funding to build a better Australia. Having joined the Board in 2019, he is proud to work with such passionate and creative people that make a difference to the community through performance art. Outside of work, Randal is passionate about history, social justice, creative arts, and sport.

Stewart macleod – DEPUTY CHAIR

Strategy & Leadership Organisational Transformation Non-Executive Director, Australia Post

Stewart MacLeod has two decades of experience in strategic design, organisational transformation and embedding cultural change. He is currently Executive Manager at Australia Post. He feels that PABL plays a profoundly important role as an experimenter, instigator and provocateur in Melbourne's performing art scene.

"In the broader tapestry of Australia’s performing arts, PABL plays a profoundly important role as experimenter, instigator and provocateur. I’ve been pleased to have the opportunity to provide my professional background in strategy and transformation to such a (counter-)culturally significant body"

wayne box – Treasurer, Finance and Governance sub-committee member

Head of Finance, Cancer Council Australia

BalletLab's Treasurer and Non Executive Board member, Wayne Box, is a Chartered Accountant with thirty years experience in finance roles locally, nationally and internationally across a variety of sectors from Chartered Accounting, Major Events, Publishing and the Arts. Wayne is the Deputy Director, Finance at the Level Crossing Removal Project - the Victorian State Government's program removing 85 of the most dangerous and congested level crossings across Melbourne. Outside of his professional employment, Wayne also is a graduate of Leadership Victoria's Williamson Community Leadership Program and is a passionate supporter of LGBTIQ+ rights, social justice and the performing arts.

"As an out and proud gay man, I'm honoured to donate my services to the Board of a progressive organisation that champions queer art. My skills gained over thirty years of finance roles encompass a variety of sectors including Chartered Accounting, Major Events, Publishing, for-purpose and performing arts. Personally, being able to be my 'whole' self - the trained Chartered Accountant, the AICD graduate, the advocate for LGBTIQ+ social justice into this Board position is something I'm excited about and care for deeply. The challenges faced by the organisation are many but the potential rewards to the community are great."

brett chynoweth - Board Member, chair of philanthropy 

Principal Artist, The Australian Ballet

Brett Chynoweth is a dance practitioner with over 15 years' experience in the arts and as a Principal Artist with The Australian Ballet has performed across Australia and internationally. 

"I am a passionate supporter of the arts and am committed to expanding my contribution more broadly across the sector. This includes my work on the board of Phillip Adam’s Ballet Lab at Temperance Hall, where I can connect to my LGBTQIA+ community and collaborate in a socially conscious and artistically adventurous environment."

Brad dodemond - board member, Chair finance and governance sub-committee

People and Culture Leader, Non-Executive Director

Brad Dodemond has over 13 years' of Human Resources experience in both Australia and North America across government, healthcare and private industry. He holds a MBA and a Master of management in Human resources and has a keen interest in helping organisations be an integral part of the community in which they serve. 

His love for PABL stems from his love of the arts but especially as an organisation that champions arts within the LGBTQIA+ community, allowing them to be themselves and creating a safe space unchallenged by the status quo. 

jordan bowering- board member, PHILANTHROPY and strategic planning sub-committee 

Associate Director, Philanthropy Operations, Arts Centre Melbourne

Jordan leads the strategic direction of the core operational requirements of Arts Centre Melbourne's philanthropy relationships and fundraising activities including the development of cross organisational projects with a focus to improve systems and processes, streamlining the support for the Philanthropy team and its growth of philanthropic revenue. His passion for the arts has embraced a lifetime of performance and arts administration and is honoured to join the board to support the future of PABL. 

"I have witnessed the dedication the board brings to Phillip Adams Ballet Lab at Temperance Hall and am honoured to join the board to support its future - for the company to continue to challenge the status quo, to create and embrace new works and build safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ artists and their art, a home to share this work with the community."

Phillip Adams – Secretary

Artistic Director, Phillip Adams BalletLab

Phillip Adams is the founder and Artistic Director of BalletLab, forming the company upon his return home from New York in 1998. Phillip is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and his performing arts background spans a 25 year career in contemporary dance. Phillip lived and worked in New York for a decade after being awarded the ANZ International Fellowship Award in 1988. He was a member of several leading dance companies and worked with many independent choreographers including BeBe Miller, Trisha Brown, Irene Hultman, Sarah Rudner, Amanda Miller, Donna Uchizono and Nina Wiener. He has since been commissioned by numerous companies in Australia and overseas.

Finance and Governance Subcommittee 

Brad Dodemond (Chair), Wayne Box (Treasurer), Phillip Adams (Secretary)

PHILANTHROPY Subcommittee 

Brett Chynoweth (Chair), Jordan Bowering (Board Director), Phillip Adams (Secretary)

STRATEGIC PLANNING Subcommittee 

Stewart MacLeod (Chair), Jordan Bowering (Board Director), Randal Patterson (Board Chair), Phillip Adams (Secretary)