The First 50 Podcast — Episode 4: Sally Chance

Sally Chance is a dance-theatre artist. She trained at Trinity Laban, London, and is motivated by the power of collaborating with specific communities whose artistic perspectives open the door to new performance forms. 

For the past fifteen years, beginning with an Australia Council Fellowship, Sallys work has been dedicated to the cultural lives of children aged three years and younger. In 2020 she completed doctoral study in the field of Theatre for Early Years at the Queensland University of Technology, Meanjin/Brisbane. 

In collaboration with the members of her South Australia-based independent company Sally Chance Dance she has created, presented and toured five new performance works and co-created other works including Flower 꽃, a collaboration with Seoul-based Theatre Masil. The Thing That Matters for DreamBIG 2023 will be the companys sixth early years performance work and the third work devised through a co-creative devising process of Family Dance Labs. 

Sally practices in the field of perinatal infant mental health using dance to support the critical first relationship between mother and baby.  

Libby O'Donovan is a powerful and sassy performer (Sydney Morning Herald), renowned for her nuanced interpretations and extraordinary voice. She is a critically acclaimed jazz and cabaret performer and an award-winning Musical Director. Libby has entertained audiences the world-over with her unique talents, performing in New York, Tokyo and Toronto as well as Australia-wide. Equally at home in small ensemble acts as well as solo performances, she has been a proud member of ARIA nominated Cocos Lunch, Flat on Your Bacharach, and Women With Standards, for which she won a Green Room Award for Musical Direction. 

Highly regarded as a solo artist, Libby has performed seasons for the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Edinburgh Fringe, Sydney Spring Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, the International Jazz Educators Convention, Adelaide Cabaret Festival (including working with Broadway composers Jason Robert-Brown and Andrew Lippa), Melbourne Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Feast Festival, and the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. 

Her theatre credits include Matthew Robinsons Metro Street, Doppio Parallelos DJ Squat, Contaminations Lab and The Last Child, Vitalstatistixs Way Dead Cool and Patch Theatre Companys Sharon Keep Ya Hair On! Libbys recent body of work in Cabaret includes The Story of Meredith Crocksley, Some of My Best Friends Are Single, Gady La La: Songs for the Sophisticated Fag Hag, Kate Leigh: The Worst Woman, UNSUNG and The Cowgirl and The Showgirl. 

As a recording artist she has featured on numerous Jazz and Cabaret albums, as well as her critically acclaimed self-penned albums The Complication, Home to You and Back to Broken Hill. 

Libby is also highly in demand as a composer, arranger and musical director. 

Libby was the recipient of Adelaide Cabaret Festival's Icon Award in 2022.