Floeur Alder Biography  

Floeur Alder received an Advanced Diploma in Dance (1998) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and a Batchelor of Arts in Performing Arts (2003). In between her studies, she was awarded a Creative Development Fellowship from Department of Culture in Perth to study with several of the leading contemporary dance companies in Europe.

In 2004, Floeur attracted two grants from the Australia Council; Foot in the Door grant to work with Leigh Warren and Dancers where she performed Like No-one is Watching by Toni Ritzi and later Tasdance; a Project Workspace grant to choreograph Rare Earth based on her parent’s lives, who are internationally famous dancers, Lucette Aldous AC and Alan Alder. Rare Earth won the ‘Most Outstanding Achievement in Choreography’ at the 2006 WA Ausdance Awards. In 2008, Floeur received an Australia Council Skills and Development Grant to film Rare Earth.

Floeur continued to perform with Tasdance for six years, working with more than twenty-five choreographers including, Tanjia Liedtke, Gail Mabo, Raewyn Hill, Natalie Weir, Graeme Murphy and Frances Rings. During her tenure she was voted Dancer to Watch by WA dance critique, Rita Clarke and more recently Australia’s Most interesting Independent Artist in 2018 by Margaret Mercer in the magazine, Dance Australia.

In 2011, Floeur travelled to Europe on a Churchill Fellowship to study at the Paris Opera School, Royal Danish school/company, Perm Ballet Academy in Russia and the Royal Ballet School in London. On her return to Perth, she performed in Trois Generation by Jean-Claude Gallotta for the 2013 Perth International Arts Festival. In this same year Floeur became a founding member of Ochre Contemporary Dance Company, unique for drawing it’s talent from multiple cultural sources.

Floeur also worked with Chrissie Parrott on her independent production Cicada (2012) and the UWA Centenary-commission LUMINOUSnight:Birds (2013)

In 2015, travel writer Stephen Scourfield invited her to collaborate on a solo work based on his book Beautiful Witness. The work premiered at the Western Australian Government House Ballroom and was subsequently performed at New Norcia Writers Festival. Following this Beautiful Witness had a sell-out season at St Georges Cathedral for the 2016 Fringe World Festival.

2016 also saw a new iteration of Ochre come to fruition and Floeur received her totem from Esperance Elder, Aunty Gail Yorkshire, which is Djidi Djidi, (Willie wagtail ) while on tour on country in Tjuntjunjara, Western Australia. Floeur is extremely humbled by this and feels grateful and honoured to be accepted this way into Aboriginal culture.

Floeur has further been invited by Elder’s in Albany Western Australia and Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory to dance and choreograph on country and they have openly and generously shared stories, giving permission for her to express her experience with the people and the land through dance. Floeur’s connection, understanding and respect for Aboriginal culture continues to emanate through her dance and life.

As a dancer with Ochre, Floeur has performed in Diaphanous, Dreamtide, Pulse ( at the Red Earth Festival in Karratha), Sculptures by the Sea, DNA Simply Human, Articulating Landscapes 1&2 and Kaya. As a choreographer, Floeur created three original works for the company: Unbreakable Spirit, Kimberley Plains and Shen. 

Floeur returned to France in 2016 to work with Robert Bestonso, ex star of the Paris Opera, to create a solo, Don’t Push, which was performed in Angouleme and was filmed by WA film-maker Dawn Jackson. In addition to this, there was a special performance at His Majesties Theatre in Perth, this too was filmed by Dawn and will feature in a documentary film, Pointe, on Floeur’s life and work.

In 2017 Floeur was the dance teacher for Aboriginal Theatre at WAAPA and performed in WA Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor. She also worked on the first development of a new solo, Beyond, by Chrissie Parrott in a residency at Donnelly River which was performed at the launch of the Nannup Flower Festival. Beyond was then performed as a part of Ochre’s 3.3 and Beyond season at Subiaco Arts Centre in 2018.   

Floeur has choreographed for numerous performances for the National Choreographic Centre, Strut, as well as a work for Link (WAAPA post graduate dance company) and Same but Different for WA Ballet Company Genesis Season.   

In 2019, Floeur created a new solo, Knowing, a tribute to Rudolf Nureyev as a part of Micromoves at Perth Fringe Festival.

Also, in 2019 Floeur was nominated for Best Female at the 2019 WA Performing Arts Awards for the 2018 performance of Beyond.

In August and September Floeur completed a month-long residency with artist Virginia Ward, at the Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany Western Australia, creating a new work, Djilba (Spring) “A Moment in time”  

In 2021 Floeur performed an excerpt of Djilba for the Margaret River Arts charity event at The Secret Garden. This was followed by a second residency of Djilba at All Saints College in Perth along with a one-off performance. Djilba was officially premiered to sell out audiences at Eric Singleton Wetlands in Bayswater, Perth.

Floeur also embarked on another work with Dawn Jackson on a theatre production of her family story, The Sleeping Beauty project.

Djilba was then taken on tour for the Re-launch of the Albany Town Hall Festival followed by performances at All Saints College in Perth.

In 2022 Floeur was invited on a residency to Yirkalla, East Arnhem Land with NT Dance Company for two weeks. This flowed into two months of rehearsals in Darwin with Floeur in the lead role as ‘Spirit’ in the production, Wana, choreographed by Gary Lang. Wana was performed at the Darwin Entertainment Centre at the Darwin Festival and received critical acclaim.  

Floeur was given the opportunity to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to choreograph and perform the first development of the Gondwana Land  project with ChitAmbara inc. On her return to Perth, Western Australia, Floeur went to work on the second development phase of the Sleeping Beauty project.   

The most recent performance of Djilba was at WAAPA November 2022 as a special memorial performance for her mother, Lucette Aldous AC.    

Throughout her career, Floeur has taught at WAAPA, Tasdance, Ochre, WA Ballet Company, NT Dance Company and numerous full time ballet schools.