AMELIA JEAN O'LEARY (she/they/yinarr)
Dance Artist | Storyteller | Director | Choreographer
Amelia Jean O’Leary is a proud queer First Nations Gamilaroi Yinarr dance artist and storyteller based across so-called “Australia,” currently living and creating on Gadigal Land (Sydney). She is Gamilaroi from Barraba, Northern New South Wales on her father’s side with Irish ancestry, and Wadawurrung from Ballarat, Victoria on her mother’s side with Scottish ancestry.
O’Leary’s multidisciplinary practice is rooted in the spiritual and human experience. Her work explores complexity, resilience, and poetic expression—manifesting in dance, choreography, dramaturgy, writing, film, sound design, and directing. She draws from a rich cultural heritage and lived experience to tell stories that are deeply personal yet universally resonant. Her works are coded, layered, and intuitively driven by her connection to self, spirit, and community.
Since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2021, O’Leary has rapidly become a compelling voice in contemporary dance and performance. She debuted her first full-length solo work Yinarr at Adelaide Fringe and Dancehouse in 2022. That same year, she performed in Collision by Jo Lloyd at Junction Arts Festival and Garabari by Joel Bray at Arts House.
In 2023, O’Leary presented her second major work A Certain Mumble with Darebin Arts Speakeasy as part of FRAME: A Biennial of Dance. Later that year, she premiered STAUNCH ASF at Melbourne Fringe (Deadly Fringe program), winning Best Emerging Indigenous Artist and receiving a Green Room Award nomination in 2024.
2024 was a breakthrough year as O’Leary was invited to Vancouver by Raven Spirit Dance to participate in Matriarchs Uprising and commissioned by Performance Space’s Queer Development Program to develop CODED. She also toured and taught nationally with The Australian Ballet’s Education and Outreach Team before becoming Artist-in-Residence at Abbotsford Convent in 2025.
In 2025, O’Leary launched the year with CODED: A Night of Queer Storytelling—a triple bill of new works (CODED, NGAMBAA, and I LOVE YOU) at Abbotsford Convent. In March, she premiered her fifth major work SAD EYES at Dancehouse and choreographed for RAWCUS Theatre’s projection work EN MASSE. In May, her debut theatre piece Peggy Sue—which showcased her skills in writing and sound design—was presented at Melbourne Theatre Company’s Lawler Theatre as part of YIRRAMBOI Festival.
Deeply grounded in community, joy, and purpose, O’Leary is passionate about creating nourishing, meaningful, and powerful work. She is particularly excited by her ongoing collaboration with the TOGETHER Pan-Indigenous Collective and her continued development of NGAMBAA, which premiered at Melbourne Fringe 2025 (Deadly Fringe program).
Stay connected: @ameliaa.jeann