Frances Orlina

Frances is a contemporary dance artist based on Gadigal Land, Sydney. She recently graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) with a Bachelor of Arts (dance), graduating as the 2023 recipient of the WAAPA medal and the Palisade Award for the Most Outstanding Graduate. As part of her studies, she was successfully selected to study abroad on exchange at SUNY Purchase College in New York for the Fall Semester of 2022.

Before her tertiary education, Frances trained at the Koninklijke Balletschool Antwerpen, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s International Program, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Professional Program, HSPRO. Frances is fortunate to have performed numerous pieces of acclaimed repertoire and to have worked with national and international choreographers. Highlights include Decadance (Ohad Naharin), Grace Engine (Crystal Pite), Quintett (William Forsythe), Quimey Neuquén (Rena Butler), Atalantas (Didier Théron), The Night Ain’t Filled with Gentle Things (Sam Coren) and Flesh Net (Jenni Large).

As a maker, her current interest plays with absurdism, satire, and a fusion of numerous dance genres. Her work, Moon River, received the Audience Choice Award at Sharp Short Dance Festival in 2020.