about scimm dance company
SCIMM Dance Company is an independent Melbourne-based contemporary dance company founded in 2013 by co-directors Timothy Barnes & Scott Pokorny. SCIMM Dance Company has been a staple in the Melbourne dance scene for the last six years, producing high quality contemporary dance works with their unique style of fusing classical-based contemporary with modern themes and a commercial edge. SCIMM Dance Company has created and produced five full-length productions to sell-out audiences.
SCIMM Dance Company is challenging the boundaries between dance styles and industry sectors, creating opportunities for dance artists and forging links with the broader community through regional engagement and ongoing community consultation. SCIMM Dance Company work current, topical, relevant and ambitious, bringing together the diversity of dance and cultivating a sense of celebration within the broader arts community.
SCIMM aims to continue to provide opportunities for artists to explore their creativity in a safe and nurturing environment, whilst always developing and challenging their technical skills. With both Platforms and SCIMM Professional showcasing new works created by Australian choreographers, SCIMM supports artists at all levels of career development, from young artists aged 12 and up in Platforms, to professional dancers in SCIMM, and emerging and established choreographers creating work.
PLATFORMS YOUTH COMPANY
Launched in 2013, Platforms Youth Company aims to create a stepping stone to the professional world, auditioning dancers and running a six-month creative development process each year, culminating in a five-show season. Platforms Youth Company has become one of Australia’s most successful youth programs, giving performance opportunities to hundreds of young dancers as well as emerging Australian choreographers and creatives, also fulfilling a major objective of the company by engaging a broad and diverse audience.
SCIMM DANCE PROFESSIONAL
In 2018 SCIMM Dance Professional was born, striving to provide paid opportunities for professional dancers while simultaneously investing in furthering their training by providing professional development opportunities and weekly classes. After the inaugural performance season in 2018, SCIMM Dance Professional will produce another show season in 2019, in addition to other performance opportunities for the dancers.
other works
Prior to launching SCIMM Dance Company Professional, SCIMM provided professional opportunities to some of Melbourne’s most accomplished dancers. With a residency period at Anyway Dance & Night Club (at the Palace Theatre, run by founders of Beyond The Valley New Year’s Festival) , SCIMM’s brief was to produce high-class, high-quality entertainment for the premium venue, putting it in the same league as international venues such as Pacha (Ibiza, Barcelona, Sydney) and House of Yes (New York). SCIMM installed themed nights, organised sets, props, dancers, aerialists, fire breathers and more, creating atmosphere and transporting patrons to an out-of-this-world experience. Following this, SCIMM choreographed and cast dancers for a TVC for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week (2014), combining commercial fashion with dance aesthetic. SCIMM has regularly performed for Cecchetti Australia, one of the major dance societies in the country, exhibiting high levels of technical brilliance combined with exciting and engaging performance value.
Amongst the many and varied performance opportunities, SCIMM have continued to engage with young aspiring dancers across Victoria and beyond. Since its beginnings in 2013, SCIMM have delivered on their values of providing the opportunity for high-quality arts experiences to young dancers in Melbourne’s outer suburbs and regional areas of Victoria and NSW. SCIMM have delivered workshops to dance communities in Ballarat, Lakes Entrance, Geelong, Colac, Castlemaine, Seymour, Traralgon, Frankston, Eltham, South Morang, Epping, Whittlesea and more. If you wish to get in touch with SCIMM to enquire about a workshop, click here.
In 2019, Scott and Tim were asked to represent SCIMM by assisting Juliet Doherty (USA dancer & actress) at her Victorian Dance Festival workshops. SCIMM have been commissioned to choreograph countless artistic works, for film, stage and site-specific work. Scott & Tim are regularly asked to adjudicate competitions and eisteddfods due to their vast experience in the industry and focus on safe dance practices, education and empowerment of young dancers.
