AMELIA JEAN O'LEARY (she/they/yinarr)
Dance Artist | Director | Choreographer | Sound Designer | Writer Amelia Jean O’Leary is a proud queer First Nations Gamilaroi and Wadawurrung Yinarr dance artist, choreographer, storyteller, and cultural practitioner based in Sydney, Australia. Working across dance, choreography, dramaturgy, writing, film, sound design, directing, and curation, O’Leary creates multidisciplinary works that transform movement into poetry and personal histories into deeply resonant contemporary performance.
Grounded in cultural lineage, spirituality, and lived experience, her practice explores themes of identity, resilience, memory, queerness, and intergenerational storytelling. Her work is recognised for its emotional intensity, poetic language, and fearless interrogation of contemporary Indigenous experience, creating performances that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.
With over ten years of experience teaching and choreographing, O'Leary began her artistic journey with her local Indigenous dance group and ballet school. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2021, O’Leary has rapidly emerged as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Australian performance. In 2022, she debuted her first full-length solo work ‘Yinarr’ at the Adelaide Fringe and Dancehouse, while also performing in works by acclaimed choreographers Jo Lloyd and Joel Bray.
In 2023, O’Leary premiered ‘STAUNCH ASF’ at Melbourne Fringe, receiving the Best Emerging Indigenous Artist Award and a Green Room Award nomination for groundbreaking artistry. Between 2024 and 2026, she expanded her practice nationally and internationally through works including ‘CODED’, ‘SAD EYES,’‘Peggy Sue,’, and ‘NGAMBAA,’ alongside the release of her dance film ‘Dhinawan: Before She Cut Her Wings.’ Her work has been presented across festivals, independent arts platforms, theatres, galleries, and community-led spaces, consistently centring Blak and queer storytelling with urgency, experimentation, and care.
Alongside her choreographic practice, O’Leary has established herself as a cultural leader and curator, creating opportunities for First Nations artists and interdisciplinary collaboration. In 2025, she curated ‘Dharriwaa Yulugi: A Night of First Nations Dance’ and began development on her new work ‘Generation WTF.’
O’Leary’s growing international recognition includes participation in ‘Matriarchs Uprising’ in Vancouver, selection for the Indigenous World Dance residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in 2026, and support from The Ian Potter Cultural Trust to attend the prestigious ‘ImPulsTanz’ IMPACT program in Vienna. In 2026, she also commenced a Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership at the University of New South Wales, further expanding her commitment to shaping the future of contemporary arts and cultural practice. Amelia was selected and commissioned by UNSW CREATIVE LAB to premier her third full length solo 'Sitting Gaanay' in Sydney Fringe September 2026. Amelia has also been commissioned by COMMON GROUND to produce her new film ‘BAAWAA’ set to premiere in August 2026.
O’Leary continues to redefine contemporary dance and storytelling through works that are urgent, luminous, and unapologetically First Nations and queer. She is widely recognised as a trailblazing artist and an unmissable emerging force within Australian and international contemporary performance.
Stay connected @ameliaa.jeann
More information:
Full CV
Dancer Portfolio
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