Quantum Leap Dance Australia

Quantum Leap Dance Australia Nourishing a bravely creative world. Australian youth dance at its best- transforming young lives and nurturing Australia’s future dance professionals.

QL2 Dance Inc is home to Quantum Leap, Canberra’s auditioned youth dance ensemble; and we assist the best dance graduates to find their creative pathway. We are dedicated to diverse, challenging and rigorous youth dance which develops the next generation of dance-makers and contributes to a dynamic, caring and diverse society. We excite our audiences with thoughtful, challenging dance works: the h

earts and minds of young people speaking through their bodies. We have presented performances in Jamaica, Thailand and Scotland; as well as Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide, Armidale, Bega, Narooma, Cowra to both audience and critical acclaim. We are passionate about extending youth dance beyond training, beyond ‘kids dancing’, to immersive, creative, demanding and ongoing dance experiences. We bring together community and professional practice so young people can present provocative, high-quality performances to both adult and young audiences. We believe in dance as an expressive artform, as well as an effective and challenging way to develop people and communities. We believe in the power of young people to drive cultural change and we value the unique viewpoint and creativity of each young person, and also value development of physical technique, self-discipline, and critical thinking. We run programs for ages 5-26 that focus on igniting and developing young people’s creative energy and dance skills. Young people can join our programs at various points and work with QL2 for periods of a few days to many years. Although we are not a dance school, we provide an excellent extension to other dance training, building a deep understanding of dance-making and performance through hands-on projects. We provide a continuous support path right through to professional development after tertiary dance training. We make a positive difference to the lives of young people whether they continue in dance, or take their passion to other fields.

It’s our favourite time of year again - spring is springing and The Chaos Project is on its way! 🌸🪩🤧We are SO EXCITED to...
04/09/2026

It’s our favourite time of year again - spring is springing and The Chaos Project is on its way! 🌸🪩🤧

We are SO EXCITED to reveal the three sensational guest choreographers who will work with our cast of 40 young people - alongside our Artistic Director Alice Lee Holland - to create this year’s production set to premiere at Belco Arts 16-17 October… are you ready?!

🔥🔥🔥

MEET ALEX ABBOT

Alexander Abbot is an Australian contemporary dancer and performance artist whose practice fuses raw street energy with technical precision. Rooted in hip-hop and breakdance, he transitioned to contemporary dance via Quantum Leap Australia under Ruth Osborne before graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2018.

Alex has worked with STRUT Dance (in collaboration with Hofesh Shechter), Brooke Leeder & Dancers, and Catapult Dance Company. As the Male Principal Dancer for Gary Lang NT Dance Company since 2022, he has toured extensively across Australia and the UK, winning the 2026 Green Room Award for Most Outstanding Duo for his performance in The Other Side of Me.

Since 2024, Alex has been a core collaborator with Shaun Parker & Company, performing globally—including at the Belgrade Dance Festival—and is currently developing a new double bill alongside Shaun Parker and Beau Dean Riley Smith.

🔥🔥🔥

We can’t wait to welcome Alex back to Gorman Arts Centre to work with Quantum! Fun fact - Alex was one of the Quantum dancers who travelled to Taiwan in 2012 with Steps Youth Dance Company dancers to perform a combined work for the World Dance Alliance ~ Dance and the Child International Congress. The work was created collaboratively by Ruth Osborne, Alice Lee Holland and James O’Hara. Youth dance 4 eva!

📷 Ben Adams, Fernanda Pedroso

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

It’s our favourite time of year again - spring is springing and The Chaos Project is on its way! 🌸🪩🤧We are SO EXCITED to...
04/09/2026

It’s our favourite time of year again - spring is springing and The Chaos Project is on its way! 🌸🪩🤧

We are SO EXCITED to reveal the three sensational guest choreographers who will work with our cast of 40 young people - alongside our Artistic Director Alice Lee Holland - to create this year’s production set to premiere at Belco Arts 16-17 October… are you ready?!

💘💘💘

MEET ISABELLA STONE

Isabella is an independent contemporary dance artist living and working in boorloo/Perth. She works across youth, professional, tertiary and community spaces as a choreographer, teacher and mentor.

Isabella centres the performers’ lived experiences within shared stories/experiences, and is interested in work that explores intimate, bodily and immense current social themes. Her artistic work is rich, image based and physical. 
 
Isabella was the Artistic Director of DRILL Performance Company Inc - a youth dance company based in nipaluna/Hobart (2020 - 2023). She has performed for national and international choreographers, most recently within Concrete Echoes created by Ta’alili (Aotearoa/NZ) and was a Tasdance company member (2017 - 2019). Isabella has presented choreographies with LINK Dance Company, WAAPA and independently, and participated in extensive creative research residencies and labs in Bilbao (ESP), Oulu (FI), Bundanon (AUS), Berlin (DE), Tokyo (JP) and Athens (GR).
 
She is a sessional lecturer at WAAPA for both Dance and BPA courses, recently took part in ATLAS, a six-week choreographic programme as part of Impulstanz, Vienna (AUT) supported by artistic mentor Christopher Matthews (US) and an artist within Performing Lines WA-SE Asia Lab 2026.

💘💘💘

We can’t wait to welcome Izzy to Canberra to work with Quantum! As a young person, Izzy was a member of STEPS Youth Dance Company in Western Australia. Youth dance 4 eva!

📷 Emma Fyshwick, Alex Morris

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

Level 3 Leapers immersed themselves in an inspring, thought-provoking, rapid fire workshop exploring the simplicity and ...
03/09/2026

Level 3 Leapers immersed themselves in an inspring, thought-provoking, rapid fire workshop exploring the simplicity and complexity of moving and making with Jeremy James of RARE BIRD ensemble this week ❤️‍🔥

Enormous thanks to Jeremy and Jack for the info, guidance and encouragement - it’s always exciting and super important to consider what we do, crack open why we do it, interrogate our habits and explore new ways. May the learning never end!

📷 Jack Martin

We are thrilled to welcome special guest artist Jeremy James to facilitate a special workshop with Level 3 Quantum Leape...
31/08/2026

We are thrilled to welcome special guest artist Jeremy James to facilitate a special workshop with Level 3 Quantum Leapers this Wednesday evening ❤️‍🔥

Jeremy is a theatre director, actor and teaching artist with more than 30 years’ international experience across theatre, performance and visual arts. His highly physical and tightly choreographed stage and site-specific work draws on physical theatre, new writing, dance, live music, puppetry and mask. He has led specialist workshops and worked as a guest director and lecturer with leading theatre schools, universities and arts organisations in Australia and internationally, including STRUT Dance, Critical Path, WAAPA, NIDA, VCA, the National Theatre School of Canada, Mountview Academy and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.

Drawing on principles developed through the Lecoq tradition, Jeremy explores the dynamics of movement through four primary elements: tension, rhythm, direction and dimension. Participants investigate how each element awakens connections between the body, breath and imagination, enhancing the expressive potential of movement while developing a physical language for communicating with greater clarity through physical storytelling.

“Jeremy dramatically shifted how I see movement and directly impacted the clarity with which I now ask dancers to interpret.” - Meredith Kalaman | dancer/choreographer | Vancouver

📷 1: Sam Bruce
📷 2: Jeremy James
📷 3: Juan Ceacero

RARE BIRD ensemble

❤️‍🔥 The reviews are in ❤️‍🔥We are so thrilled that METTLE was a powerful experience for so many audience members here i...
04/08/2026

❤️‍🔥 The reviews are in ❤️‍🔥

We are so thrilled that METTLE was a powerful experience for so many audience members here in Canberra. We are excited to share METTLE beyond the ACT in the future 💚🌏💙

“This is precisely the kind of work our major cultural institutions should be championing. It deserves audiences beyond Canberra. It deserves national touring, international festival conversations and continued investment.

Because if METTLE demonstrates anything, it is that the future of Australian contemporary performance is already here.

And it is in exceptionally capable hands.”

- Chenoeh Miller, Australian Stage

Image 1 Creswick
Images 2-4 O & J Wikner Photography

Quantum Leap Australia is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

29/07/2026

🔫💚🔫 Are you ready to join the CHAOS? 💚🔫💚

CHAOS is our annual Spring performance project. Fun, imaginative and collaborative, CHAOS is open to young people aged 8+ who love to dance and be creative - no formal dance experience required!

CHAOS takes place at Gorman Arts Centre across the school holidays, and culminates in a professional performance at Belconnen Arts Centre 16-17 October 2026.

AUDITION WORKSHOP
Sunday 9 August, 10:00am-1:00pm
Gorman Arts Centre, D Block studio�
For more info, or to register for the audition - https://www.ql2.org.au/chaosproject

🚨Audition registrations close 5pm Wednesday 5 August🚨

Design LIMEGREENTANGERINE AU
Images O & J Wikner Photography

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

METTLE opened last night to a full house and a standing ovation! Thank you to our incredible audience for joining us for...
25/07/2026

METTLE opened last night to a full house and a standing ovation! Thank you to our incredible audience for joining us for our world premiere ❤️‍🔥

We couldn’t be more proud of this beast of a work. Check out these epic pics by O & J Wikner Photography 🔥

There are very few tickets left! Get in super quick - you don’t want to miss it!💨

Choreographers Alice Lee Holland 𝖏𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖟𝖎𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌
Artistic Associate 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝙷𝚊𝚒𝚛!
Sound Design Sascha Budimski
Visual Design Creswick Collective
Costume Design Aleisa Jelbart

The Vault

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

☄️☄️ METTLE AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE ☄️☄️METTLE is a contemporary dance performance with surround sound and visual elements. ...
23/07/2026

☄️☄️ METTLE AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE ☄️☄️

METTLE is a contemporary dance performance with surround sound and visual elements. This production is designed to be immersive for the audience. There is an intensity to this experience.

METTLE contains flashing lights, extended sequences of flickering visuals, total blackouts, as well as loud and industrial sounds.
 
Limited seats will be marked as “Full METTLE Impact”. Please do not choose these seats if you have sensitivity to light and/or sound as these are located closest to the speakers.

Audience members may choose to bring their own ear plugs or earmuffs for comfort. Quantum Leap will have ear plugs available, as well as a limited supply of earmuffs.

For audience members with a sensitivity to light and/or sound, we encourage you to attend our pre-performance sensory preview.

SENSORY PREVIEW SESSIONS

A sensory preview session will allow guests with sensory sensitivities to experience the venue’s lighting and sound environment ahead of the performance. If you would like to attend, please plan to arrive promptly for the session times below and notify the box office.

* Friday 24 July at 6:20pm (7pm performance)
* Saturday 25 July at 1:40pm (2pm performance)
* Saturday 25 July at 6:20pm (7pm performance)
* Sunday 26 July at 4:20pm (5pm performance)

While the overall work is abstract, METTLE will include moods, sounds and choreographic qualities that some audience members may find unsettling. The performance is suitable for audiences aged 8+ or with parental discretion.

📷 O & J Wikner Photography

Just 3 days til METTLE! 💥💥💥Check out these epic pics from our last day of rehearsal in the studio last Friday, captured ...
21/07/2026

Just 3 days til METTLE! 💥💥💥

Check out these epic pics from our last day of rehearsal in the studio last Friday, captured by the wonderful O & J Wikner Photography

💨 Don’t miss out! Only 7 tickets left for Friday 7pm and 8 tickets left for Saturday 7pm!

**METTLE is an immersive experience with surround sound and vision - be prepared for loud, sudden, industrial sounds, extended sequences of flickering visuals, strobing lights, and total blackouts.**

☄️ It’s time to test your mettle ☄️

Friday 24 - Sunday 26 July The Vault

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

18/07/2026

mettle
 
/ˈmɛtl/
 
Mettle refers to a person’s courage, resilience, and strength of character. It is the ability to face challenges, persevere under pressure, and remain determined when things get difficult.

Through grit and pressure comes evolution.
It’s time to test your mettle.

METTLE
24-26 July
The Vault, Dairy Road The Vault

Choreographers Alice Lee Holland 𝖏𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖟𝖎𝖊𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌
Artistic Associate 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚞𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝙷𝚊𝚒𝚛!
Sound Design Sascha Budimski
Visual Design Creswick Collective
Costume Design Aleisa Jelbart

Quantum Leap is proud to be supported by the ACT Government through artsACT

Address

Gorman Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue
Canberra, ACT
2612

Telephone

+61262473103

Website

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