Eight cutting-edge dance makers will present work at Melbourne’s Dancehouse in April.

The Keir Foundation, with its two presenting partners, Sydney’s Carriageworks and Melbourne’s Dancehouse, has today announced the eight shortlisted choreographers to reach the semifinals of the 2016 Keir Choreographic Award. Launched in 2014, this will be the second edition of the biennial competition, which is Australia’s first major award for contemporary choreography.

Only professional artists with a portfolio of existing work and an established practice are eligible to compete, making this award an unparalleled platform, showcasing the best dance artists in Australia. An independent panel of national and international experts were tasked with assessing proposals submitted by choreographers from across the country. Eight semifinalists will now have the opportunity to present a newly created 20 minute work at Dancehouse next April, before four finalists are selected to present at Carriageworks in May.

Belgium-based Serbian performance artists and theorist Bojana Cvejić, curator and critic Pierre Bal-Blanc, American choreographer Sarah Michelson and Perth International Arts Festival director and former Head of Dance at London’s Southbank Centre Wendy Martin joined Phillip Keir, the Keir Foundation founder, to select the eight shortlisted artists. The jury...