Gideon Obarzanek

Gideon Obarzanek

• Gideon became interested in dance towards the end of high school and after graduating deferred science at university to study at the Australian Ballet School. He later danced with the Queensland Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company before working as an independent performer and choreographer with various dance companies and independent projects within Australia and abroad. Gideon founded Chunky Move in 1995 and has been its Artistic Director to date. While the company mostly features his work it also commissions various other Australian choreographers and invites international choreographers to give workshops in its home city of Melbourne, Australia.

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  Obarzanek’s works for Chunky Move have been diverse in form and content and include stage productions, installations, site-specific works and film. His works have been performed in many festivals and theatres around the world in the U.K, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

  Gideon’s film, Dance Like Your Old Man, co-directed with Edwina Throsby won Best Short Documentary at the 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival, 2008 Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and Best Film at the Cinedans Festival in Amsterdam. In collaboration with Lucy Guerin and Michael Kantor, Gideon has also received a New York Bessie award for outstanding choreography and creation for Chunky Move’s production of Tense Dave. In 2008 he received two Australian Helpmann Awards for Glow and Mortal Engine. In 2009, Mortal Engine received an Honorary Mention in the Prix Ars Electronica awards in the Hybrid Arts category.