AMELIA JEAN O'LEARY (she/they/yinarr)
Interdisciplinary Artist | Director | Choreographer | Dancer | Curator | WriterAmelia Jean O’Leary is a proud queer First Nations Gamilaroi and Wadawurrung Yinarr interdisciplinary artist and director based in Sydney, Australia. Working across movement, moving image, sonic landscapes, cultural production, curation, and media practice, she creates multidisciplinary works that merge choreography, film, sound, storytelling, and material culture. Moving fluidly between disciplines, O’Leary's practice spans performance, writing, directing, and contemporary media, driven by experimentation, cultural curiosity, and an expansive creative vision. She does not simply produce work; she curates, invents, and influences, using her practice to challenge contemporary cultural spaces and expand how stories are told, experienced, and shared.
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, she 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 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 its 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 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 (later Sitting Ganaay.)
O’Leary’s growing international recognition includes participation in Matriarchs Uprising in Vancouver, where Ngambaa toured in 2026, and support from The Ian Potter Cultural Trust to attend the prestigious ImPulsTanz IMPACT Program in Vienna. In 2026, she 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. That same year, O’Leary was selected and commissioned by UNSW Creative Lab to premiere her third full-length solo work, Sitting Ganaay, at Sydney Fringe, where it was nominated for Best in Dance. Her dance film Dhinawan: Before She Cut Her Wingswas presented as part of Impact Curates: Dance on Film by Catapult Dance, while Ngambaa received a reimagined Sydney premiere at Bankstown Arts Centre. O’Leary has also been commissioned by Common Ground to create her new film BAAWAA, further extending her multidisciplinary practice across movement, moving image, sound, and cultural storytelling.
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 one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Australian interdisciplinary performance.
Stay connected @ameliaa.jeann
More information:
Full CV
Dancer Portfolio
WorksVimeo