DANscienCE and BOLD Festivals are the innovation of Liz Lea, Past-Director Canberra Dance Theatre.
The inaugural DANscienCE Festival in National Science Week, August 2013, was held in conjunction with Chris Kennedy and CSIRO Discovery, Canberra, Australia. It was a week of showcasing an extraordinary array of dance' interface with science:
The 2nd DANscienCE Festival was held in 2015 in conjunction with Creative Industries, Qld University of Technology (QUT) through Professor Gene Moyle, Head of Dance. Topics included:
At the inaugural DANscienCE Festival, Owen joined Ros Penfold as a physiotherapy panel reviewing 6 genres of dance by a range of age groups and training from young students of Hip Hop and African Tribal to middle aged ballet and belly dancers to elderly dancers performing an indigenous women's dance.
Inaugural BOLD Festival, the legacy of Australian Dance, was held in March 2017 in Canberra. It reviewed the history of dance in Australia, with special acknowledgment to Elizabeth Dalman OAM who also performed at the age of 80. It showcased dance from Taiwan, Singapore, and Australia, and included community and professional dance. Elizabeth came back to dance in 2019. The 2019 BOLD Festival included a showcase of inclusive dance at the Australian Parliament House, on the theme of the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing. At the parlimentary showcase, dancing from chair, at 104 years of age was Eileen Kramer.
Owen has filmed and photographed the Inaugural & 2nd DANscienCE and inaugural & 2nd BOLD Festivals. Clips of many presentations from both festivals can be found at the links here. There was a DANscienCE 2018 to which Owen was unable to attend.