Ausdance ACT’s Youth Dance Festival (YDF) is a longstanding collaboration with Canberra Theatre Centre, connecting generations of young people with professional theatre experiences in the heart of Canberra. Since its beginnings in 1984, YDF has taken place annually, providing industry-standard performance, choreography, and production opportunities for more than 45,000 young people. This enduring success is guided by a team of industry leaders, with Dr Cathy Adamek serving as Creative Director and Debora Di Centa as Program Manager.

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In recognition of its artistic excellence and community impact, in 2025 YDF was awarded a Canberra Critics Circle Award “for providing young dancers with a professionally curated and technically sophisticated platform for dance and choreography as it celebrated its 40th Anniversary of the Youth Dance Festival at Canberra Theatre in November 2024 with the theme, What Do You Dream?” The festival’s 40th anniversary was commemorated with a foyer exhibition celebrating 40 years of Youth Dance Festival and the return of distinguished alumni choreographers, whose mentorship reinforced YDF’s enduring legacy of nurturing young talent.

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YDF champions a student‑led creative process, supported by professional ACT artists who work directly with schools. Students develop original choreography, theatre, and film work through a structured creative pathway aligned with ACT curriculum outcomes across the Arts, Health and PE, and general capabilities such as collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and confidence. Participation is inclusive and non‑competitive, welcoming mainstream, specialist, and disability education settings. There are no auditions—participation is open to all ACT region high schools and colleges.​​

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