
Image Credit: Lisa Maris McDonell

Image Credit: Lisa Maris McDonell
Happy Hour #20: THE BUDGET
ReadyMade Works is excited to announce Happy Hour #20 :The BUDGET.
Happy Hour #20 is curated by Lisa Maris McDonell who has reimagined this iteration of Happy Hour as the third stage development of her ongoing project, The BUDGET.
Lisa - "This Happy Hour I'm bringing a handful of Sydney's most respected and experienced artists out from behind their desks (where they work in order to survive and also support our ever more fragile dance community) for a new work development that doubles as a performance. The BUDGET does just as our funding overlords would like us to do and places The BUDGET at the centre of creative output. The BUDGET looks at an artist’s relationship to money in a world that requires everything to have a dollar value.
I'm asking myself a few questions as I enter this stage of development, including;
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How can I creatively work within the budget that I've been given by ReadyMade while completing an entire stage of development for this project AND provide an enjoyable evening out for our audience, while making important statements and sticking to the rules I've made to contain the project?
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Why do mature dance artists in Australia (often female) end up putting their choreographic practices aside to work behind a desk?
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Should I be doing that (working behind a desk) instead of this (making more dances)?
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What if Australia got to see their choreographers work over a lifetime making dance, like sometimes happens in other places?"
Performers: Jane McKernan, Maya Gavish, Emma Saunders, Lizzie Thomson, + others TBA.
Live projection: Martin Fox
Dates: Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December
Time: 6pm
Tickets: $15
With limited seats available, you don't want to miss out – grab your tickets now!
Happy Hour is supported by the NSW government through Create NSW
Image Credit: Lisa Maris McDonell
Happy Hour is ReadyMade Works' signature short works program showcasing the extraordinary practices of Sydney's independent dance artists. Initiated by Linda Luke and Samantha Chester in 2016, Happy Hour is the platform for encountering the diverse and uncompromising work being made by local dance artists.
ARTISTS:
Jane McKernan
Maya Gavish
Emma Saunders
Lizzie Thomson
Martin Fox


HAPPY HOUR HISTORY
2025
PACT HOST!Happy HourPlus 2025:
Featuring:
Ivey Wawn, Mitchell Christie, and Valdi Yudibrata and Will Mak
Happy Hour #19:
Curated by Gabriela Quinsacara
Featuring:
Pat with his crew Flowtality; Momo Nogita with Vincent Kyle Garcia; Dechen Gendun with Genevieve Craig; and Valdi Yudibrata with William Mak.
2024
Happy Hour #18:
Young Folks
Featuring:
Jacinta Mullen, Jaslyn Boughton, Phaedra Brown, Ashleigh Veitch, Bianca Yeung, Grace White, Layla Meadows, Avalon Ormiston. Mentor for Happy Hour #18: Lizzie Thomson
PACT HOST!Happy HourPlus #2:
Featuring:
Noha Ramadan & Charlie Trier, Patricia Wood & Alex Karaconji and Brian Fuata
Happy Hour #17:
Curated by Feras Shaheen
Featuring:
CONJAH (Ooshcon and Jahra Wasasala) and Zain El-Roubaei + Gabriela Quinsacara
2023
Happy Hour #16:
Curated by Reina Takeuchi
Featuring:
Amy Zhang with Billy Keohavong and Jackson Garcia, Caya Crew, Madfox, Seet Dance
Happy Hour PLUS!
Hosted by PACT
Featuring:
Lee Serle
Azzam Mohamed
Tra Mi Dinh
Happy Hour #15:
Curated by Raghav Handa
Featuring:
Chloe Leong
Proper Motion & Raúl Tamez
Taiga Kita-Leong
2022
Happy Hour #14:
Curated by Jane McKernan
Featuring: Molonai Makalio
Clive Ellwood
Russell Morell
Gabriela Green Olea
with Zaya Barroso
Happy Hour #13:
The Improvisation Edition
Curated by: Amaara Raheem
and Brooke Stamp
Featuring:
Brian Fuata
Patricia Wood
Tony Osborne
Nikki Heywood
and Mark Cauvin
Ryuichi Fujimura
Shota Matsumura
Amaara Raheem.
Happy Hour #12:
Curated by: Jane McKernan
Featuring:
Cleo Mees with Poppy Burnett
Victoria Hunt
with Moe Clark & James Brown
Patricia Wood.
2021
Happy Hour #11:
The Street Elite Edition
Curated by: Nick Power
Featuring:
Booyakasha
Tony Oxybel
Stale Biskitz
2020
Happy Hour #10
Curated by: Adelina Larsson and Rhiannon Newton
Featuring: Linda Luke, Lee Serle and Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal
2019
Happy Hour #9
Curated by: Adelina Larsson and Rhiannon Newton
Featuring: Kristina Chan, Zachary Lopez and Lizzie Thomson
Writer: Jodie McNeilly-Renaudie
Happy Hour #8
Curated by: Patricia Wood, Rhiannon Newton and Adelina Larsson
Featuring: Katina Olsen, Ryuichi Fujimura and Murasaki Penguin (Ana Kuroda and David Kirkpatrick)
Writer: Cleo Mees
published in ADSR Zine
Writer: Nikki Heywood
2018
Happy Hour #7
Curated by: Julie-Anne Long
Featuring: Martin del Amo and Anton, Kathy Cogill and Nikki Heywood and Tony Osborne
2017
Happy Hour #6
Co-presented with Critical Path
Curated by: Linda Luke
Featuring: Lucky Lartey, Vicky van Hout, Matt Cornell and Heidrun Löhr
Happy Hour #5
Curated by: Martin del Amo
Featuring: Raghav Handa, Sara Black and Rosie Dennis
Happy Hour #4
Curated by: Narelle Benjamin
Featuring: Linda Luke and Martin Fox, Timothy Ohl, Benjamin Hancock and Julie-Anne Long
Happy Hour #3
Curated by: Kathryn Puie
Featuring: Kathryn Puie, Ivey Wawn and Chloe Fournier
Happy Hour #2
Curated by: Linda Luke
Featuring: Angela French, Paea Leach, Justin Shoulder and Ryuichi Fujimura
Happy Hour #1
Curated by: Diane Busuttil
Featuring: Omer and Sharon Backley-Astrachan and Murasaki Penguin



























































