Gideon Obarzanek Overview

Gideon Obarzanek is a choreographer and the Artistic Director of Chunky Move, which he founded in 1995. He danced with the Queensland Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company before working as an independent performer and choreographer with various dance companies and independent projects within Australia and abroad.

Obarzanek’s works for Chunky Move have been diverse in form and content and include stage productions, installations, site-specific works and film. His works have been performed in many festivals and theatres around the world in the U.K, Europe, Asia and the Americas. 

His film, "Dance Like Your Old Man," co-directed with Edwina Throsby, won Best Short Documentary at the 2007 Melbourne International Film Festival, 2008 Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and Best Film at the Cinedans Festival in Amsterdam. He also collaborated with Lucy Guerin and Michael Kantor on "Tense Dave," for which he received a New York Bessie award for outstanding choreography. For "Glow" and "Mortal Engine," Gideon earned two Australian Helpmann Awards in 2008.  In 2009, "Mortal Engine" also received an Honorary Mention in the Prix Ars Electronica awards in the Hybrid Arts category.