Australia’s dance scene is having a moment. A new generation of movers are stepping into the light, bringing fresh energy to stages and screens across the country. From ballet to hip hop to contemporary – these performers are rewriting the rules, turning movement into something electric and unforgettable.

Enter ACT4 Agency, the brainchild of former professional ballet dancers Jessica Kenway and Coco Mathieson. Founded in 2024, it’s less an agency, more a gathering place for Australia’s most boundary-pushing talent. The faces that make it all happen.

This is your front-row ticket to meet the next wave. The dreamers, the doers, the risk-takers whose steps demand your attention. Each has a story, a rhythm, a fire that burns bright. Together, they’re transforming the way we see and feel dance. Call it movement, call it magic – either way, you won’t be able to look away.

Ben Garrett

The first thing people should know about me is ... Creativity and art are very central to who I am. It's my fuel.

My career started in … The shed of my childhood home – So Fresh: The Hits of Spring 2005 blasting on the CD player.

I now find myself … Right now – walking down a side street of Tokyo feasting on 7Eleven egg sandwiches and Suntory Boss.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … A really bad texter.

My favourite type of movement feels like … Melting.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... Still dancing, but just in a weirder way.

Right now, my work feels … Explorative and inspiring.

A career highlight has been … Having the role of Bosie created on me for Christopher Wheeldon's Oscar, and being able to create and stage my own choreographic works.

My dream job is … My job.

When I perform, I hope people feel … Full stop. I just hope people feel something.

Yaru Xu

The first thing people should know about me is ... I perform with the Australian Ballet as a professional dancer. Although both of my parents are Chinese, I frequently get asked if I am mixed. I was born in China, and at the age of five, I came to Australia.

My career started in … In 2024, my career with the Australian Ballet formally began. I was given a taste of the workings of a ballet career in 2023 when I was seconded with the Company to perform Swan Lake and The Dream during my graduating year at the Australian Ballet School.

I now find myself … I’ve come to realise how much I enjoy working behind the lens. I enjoy the process of creating a photograph or film, whether it's capturing pictures or engaging as the "objective." Being a dancer exposes us to the setting of showing our skills on a regular. Through that I find it natural only to move the same way at shoots as I do on stage.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … A model.

My favourite type of movement feels like … A state of flow, almost quite meditative. I get sucked in a zone where it allows me to move in an urban contemporary manner. It should feel easy on the mind but still quite hard work physically, both powerful and beautiful.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... You will quite literally find me doing anything else besides thinking about dance.

Right now, my work feels … Fresh, in the sense that I can’t wait to see where my dancing takes me in the future. I enjoy the process of learning new things, drilling into the nuances, sharing them with an audience, appreciating them when looking back at the work that’s been put in. But, ask me again in 10 years time, hope I can only say the same thing!

A career highlight has been … Travelling to different places around the world through dancing. It’s a beautiful thing that I get to work and explore different places at the same time.

My dream job is … Along with dancing and modelling on the occasion, I’ve always wanted to be a neurosurgeon.

When I perform, I hope people feel … I hope people feel a part of me or what I’m trying to express. I want people to leave knowing that they’ve experienced something. It doesn’t have to move anything major or special, just in a way that they can remember bits of me.

Benedicte Bemet

The first thing people should know about me is ...  I love what I do, I feel very fortunate to be so passionate about my job. Like all things it has its ups and downs but I love the freedom, expression and cathartic release it allows me. It has shaped the person I am today and taught me so much about myself.

My career started in … The Australian Ballet, I have been dancing with this company for 12 years now, it’s like my second home.

I now find myself … Less focused on technique and similar aspects that used to drive me when I was younger. The beautiful thing about dancing for such a long time is that it gives you the opportunity to explore other aspects of the art form. You spend years honing your technique and mastering the physical challenges to allow yourself to feel more comfortable and confident in those elements. This unlocks a whole other side to explore, your mind has the space to think about the music, the story, your interpretation of the movement and be more curious. It’s a special place to be in.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … Technician and body. Historically ballet has had a certain aesthetic that has lead to body image and disordered eating throughout the industry. Slowly the dance world is shifting its perspective and placing more value on the dancer as an artist telling a story, and expressing themselves through their movement, as opposed to just a body making shapes. There’s more appreciation for diverse interpretations of classic stories, there’s a long way to go but there is a shift and it’s liberating and inspiring.

My favourite type of movement feels like … Freedom within boundary. Ballet can be very specific in regard to choreography and the aesthetic we create, discovering your own interpretation within these parameters is where the challenge lies. The greatest dancers across generations have been doing the same steps and achieving the same physical goals as we are today, but what made them great was their individuality and the sense of abandonment they would dance with. Having the courage to be vulnerable and express yourself through your body is a cathartic experience, one I am so grateful for.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... At the beach or in a cafe reading. I love the ocean, it’s calming and grounding, also great recovery for my body. And I love to read, fiction, biographies, self help, cooking books, almost anything, it’s meditative and I love learning new things through reading.

Right now, my work feels … Incredibly fulfilling. I feel supported and challenged and believed in. I feel like I’m growing as an artist and I’m given the space to try different things and explore my artistry.

A career highlight has been … Dancing Diamonds in George Balanchine’s Jewels in London at Covent Garden. It was such a special tour for the company and it’s one of my favourite ballets, it felt like all the stars aligned and the we all danced so well. You always hope to have a good show but sometimes it will just happen and I feel like that night was a great one, I felt very proud.

My dream job is … Honestly, I have my dream job. There has been a lot of sacrifice and heart ache, but ultimately I love dancing and I get to wake up each day and do something I love with some of my dearest friends.

When I perform, I hope people feel … Connected and that they are reminded of all the beautiful and heartbreaking feelings and experiences we all have and share.

Dontà Whitham

The first thing people should know about me is ... My name is pronounced 'Don-tay' and I’m a Virgo sun, Pisces rising and Cancer moon.

My career started in … 2023. However, I’ve been training as a performer since I was four.

I now find myself … Beginning my second year with Bangarra Dance Theatre.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … A Rick Owens fangirl.

My favourite type of movement feels like … I’m existing in a world beyond the 3D. Movement has its own power and language, so it’s difficult to express through words but, I enjoy exploring fluid movements like water.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... Most likely strutting down King Street with an iced matcha latte or at the beach.

Right now, my work feels … Fresh, energetic and exciting, especially to have new faces in the space and new creations in store for 2025.

A career highlight has been … Receiving a contract with Bangarra Dance Theatre as the Russell Page Graduate of 2024, in honour of such a renowned and inspiring Indigenous artist. Other highlights include performing at the Sydney Opera House, returning our show Yudela back to country and, directing my first creative shoot in collaboration with Matthew Ashton and Jesse Elford.

My dream job is … To perform, model and create internationally. I’m so motivated by the idea of travelling long distances for work and establishing my presence in front of new eyes. It’d be a vision come to life. Otherwise, I’m striving to get into book my first runway show, editorials and work with established/emerging designers that I love (Rick Owens, Nicol and Ford, John Galliano, Wackie Ju, Christopher Esber).

When I perform, I hope people feel … Immersed, educated and taken care of. My job when I go out on stage, is to give an enjoyable experience for audiences, hoping that they can escape themselves into the story that I creating before them.

Grace Carroll

My career started in … I started ballet at my local ballet school in Newport beach, Sydney… tiny little studio inside a church.

I now find myself … I find myself now living in Melbourne, I’ve done a lot between then and now, lived in Paris and London to train, super challenging. But now I’m living my childhood dream as an artist with the Australian Ballet

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … I would switch that around. I’m an artist first, performer second.

My favourite type of movement feels like … A meditation. It’s pure focus on the breath and tuning into how the body feels, that’s what daily class is for.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... You’ll find me knitting at my local coffee shop.

Right now, my work feels … My work feels so gratifying. Being a ballet dancer is not easy, we work very long days and nights, a lot of the time you are so exhausted. But I am incredibly lucky to be able to get paid for what I love to do, it maybe sounds a bit cringe, but it’s true!

A career highlight has been … Returning to London and performing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. I graduated school on that stage, I never thought I would dance there again, but I always hoped I would. I was lucky enough to dance the principal girl in Emeralds in Balanchines Jewels. To perform on that stage dancing one of my most favourite roles meant the world to me! I remember the feeling when the curtain went up and looking out to the beautiful auditorium, it was quite spiritual. Almost as if I could feel all the spirits of the performers that had once performed on this great stage. It was supremely humbling.

My dream job is … What I do right now!

When I perform, I hope people feel … I hope people experience an escape from reality for a moment and hopefully pass on the life affirming power that our art form holds. To leave the audience feeling lighter and inspired during a time where the world can feel so overwhelming.

Hugo Poulet

The first thing people should know about me is ... That you’ll never know everything about me.

My career started in … My career started in the living room.

I now find myself … I now find myself caught in the web of my desires.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … A dreamer.

My favourite type of movement feels like … My favourite type of movement feels like an expansive steppe.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... Creating in other mediums.

Right now, my work feels … On the cusp of re-definement.

A career highlight has been … A career highlight has been performing DRENCHED with the epic cast.

My dream job is … My dream job is a secret.

When I perform, I hope people feel … Hope.

Jett Ramsay

The first thing people should know about me is ... I am a perfectionist who is passionate about the arts. I look to turning steps into
experiences, wanting to give audiences more than a performance - aiming for the high standards of artistry that defines Melbourne. Driven by creativity, my work is fuelled by a desire to push boundaries in dance, crafting moments that resonate deeply with both those on stage and the viewer.

My career started in … I began my career with The Australian Ballet in 2020 and I continue to perform with the admired establishment today. I have been there to perform a dynamic range of works, from timeless storytelling ballets to groundbreaking creations by the world’s most inventive choreographers and remain a proud member of The Australian Ballet and as a creative with Act 4 Agency.

I’m a performer first, and second I'm … A dog lover.

My favourite type of movement feels like … My favourite type of movement feels like a perfect blend of fluidity and precision, creating a sense of freedom while out of breath. It’s the kind of movement that allows me to lose myself in the moment while still connecting deeply with the music and the story I’m telling.

When I’m not dancing, you’ll find me ... At the beach, splashing about in the water, or at home, indulging my ‘creative’ side by rearranging all of the furniture.

Right now, my work feels … I am deeply inspired by the resilience and beauty that emerge from perseverance. It’s in those moments of challenge that I find new depths of creativity, a renewed passion for my craft, and a stronger connection to the art that fuels me.

My dream job is ... Is it a dream if I’m living it?

When I perform, I hope people feel ... I hope people feel a deep connection – whether it's a moment of quiet reflection or an overwhelming surge of emotion. When I perform, I want people to feel something real – moved, energised, and inspired.