SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAM
GUTS’ School Holiday Program is designed to offer young people aged 13 - 18 a fun, safe and creative environment to learn new styles of dance, extend their knowledge and connect with their bodies and each other.
With special guest teachers Jonni Homesy (Naarm/Melbourne) and Azzam Mohamed (Gadigal/Sydney) alongside local GUTS facilitators, participants will learn Waacking, Street Dance, Contemporary Dance, Improvisation and more.
Join us for this free program this school holidays!
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Participation is free!
GUTS will provide some snacks for the sessions held in our studio.
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1 - 3pm: GUTS Studio at the Araluen Arts Centre. Entry via the ramp/stairs near the loading dock. Scroll down the page for more detailed instructions on how to find the studio!
6 - 7pm: Brown Street Youth Centre
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Click here tocomplete a school holiday registration form.
If transport is a barrier to participation, GUTS may be able to provide some transportation to and from the program. Please get in touch with us at contact@gutsdance.org.auto discuss options.
GUEST FACILITATORS
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JONATHAN HOMESY
Dr. Jonathan 'Jonni' Homsey is a choreographer and curator working from the position of a Queer Person of Colour based in Wurundjeri country. Originally an award-winning dancer for crews during the naughties in Southern California, he is humbled to be a community leader in so-called Australia for the past decade, galvanising people together to dance. From Arts Centre Melbourne to Melbourne Museum, Jonathan specialises in platforming Street and Queer dance forms to cultivate empowerment for sexually and ethnically diverse young people. He was awarded the 2021 Green Room for Best Dance Production and is the 2022 Melbourne Fringe Festival’s Director Choice Winner. In 2023, he was awarded 4 stars for his work choreographing Guys and Dolls for Antipodes Theatre Company and his aquatic performance Shower Thots from The Age. He is a proud member of Burn City W*ack, which he has been a part of for a decade. Since June 2025, Jonathan is the Artistic Director of Platform Arts in Diljang (Geelong), Victoria.
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AZZAM MOHAMED
Azzam Mohamed (Shazam), originally from Sudan and now based on Gadigal Land, is a choreographer blending street, club, and African dance forms. His choreographic debut, Two Crews (2020), directed by Nick Power, premiered at Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, merging his Riddim Nation crew with Paris' Lady Rocks.
In 2021, Azzam co-created The Risk of Hyperbole with Jack Prest, commissioned by Phoenix Central Park and supported by major Australian arts bodies. Their collaboration continued with MONUMENTAL (2022) at the Art Gallery of NSW and the Sydney Festival (2023).
Azzam's recent works include GLAD (2023) for ReadyMade Works, Sculptured Riddims (2024) at Sydney Festival, and Echo Mapping, a duet with Prest. He now leads Katma, his first full-length production premiering at Sydney Festival 2025, co-created with diverse dance artists and commissioned by the Major Festivals Initiative.
FIND OUR STUDIO
Ever tried to find the GUTS Studio? We’re a little bit hidden at our home around the back of the Araluen Arts Centre. Here’s how you can find us >
Head to the front of the Araluen Arts Centre, towards Witchetty’s.
Head up the ramp towards the silver gates.
Facing the building, look right and head down the road that says ‘Private Road’.
Almost there!
Keep heading down the road, past the playground to the back of the building.
Through the gates and through the doors on the right - you made it!