Fund Raising Dance Party 2025
HEMF invites you to join us in expanding the future of Dance as a Healing Art.
A not-to-be-missed occasion to support research & reconnect with the Dance & Dance Movement Therapy community.
Featuring Rock Band DOGHOUSE with Maria Sangiorgi.
Guest Performers – Andrew Morrish, Anjali Sengupta, and Melanie Coates.
Finger food & Drinks at Bar Prices, Dance Party
Join the dance with us!
This event has been postponed.
You are invited, with friends and colleagues, to an evening of music, dance and connection with the dance and dance movement therapy communities. Come to support and celebrate HEMF.
The Hanny Exiner Memorial Foundation (HEMF) a Not-For Profit (NFP) Association. Our mission is to foster research and quality of practice in Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), in order to improve the health and wellbeing of the wider community. All donations and funding go to annually awarded grants for research, to evidence the effectiveness of dance movement therapy or therapeutic dance.
We wish to thank the Exiner family for making HEMF possible.
Our grateful thanks also go to the Doghouse band and our presenters who include Andrew Morrish, Anjali Sengupta and Melanie Coates, and others, who have all offered their services for free.
All donations and contributions are welcome and your presence at this event will help to make it a success in promoting the work of the Hanny Exiner Memorial Foundation to: Further the Understanding of Dance as a Healing Art.
The Inimitable Andrew Morrish’s journey into dance began with the Graduate Diploma in Movement and Dance in 1981/82, transforming his love of dancing in pubs into a lifelong professional and artistic pursuit. Influenced by mentors like Hanny Exiner, Karen Bond, Phil Lloyd, and Jane Guthrie, he spent a decade immersed in Melbourne’s Dance Therapy community and the improvisation scene led by Al Wunder.
He later focused on artistic development, notably collaborating with Peter Trotman, and from 2002 based himself in Europe to teach and perform improvisation using both movement and language. Now living in Orbost, Gippsland, he continues to coach and perform – always seeking new ways to surprise himself and his audience.
The Dynamic Anjali Sengupta is a trauma-informed dance movement therapist, arts educator, and performing artist with over 30 years of experience working with the body across four continents. She is the founder of Embracing Spirit, offering somatic and creative services for individuals and groups seeking deeper connection with inner wisdom.
Anjali is also a counsellor with HerSpace, supporting women impacted by exploitation, slavery, and servitude. Her integrative approach blends Eastern and Western practices, drawing on movement, transpersonal arts, and holistic therapies. Passionate about empowering cycle breakers, rebels, and empathic leaders, she helps others access their embodied presence, unlock creativity, and live with more vitality and freedom.
The Inspirational Melanie Coates began belly dancing in Melbourne in the late 1970s, drawn in by the energy of a growing Australian interest in Middle Eastern dance. She trained with Mona Abed, one of the few Middle Eastern teachers at the time, attending small, disciplined classes in Mona’s Doncaster lounge room. Though she never intended to perform, demand from the Arabic community led to a decade-long professional dance career through the 1980s, with up to 12 shows a week. Melanie then spent another 10 years teaching before retiring in 1997 to focus on family life. Now, after more than two decades away, Melanie returns to the stage at the HEMF Dance Party—reconnecting with the art form that first inspired her.
Please forward the invitation to colleagues and friends, so they can book in, or book them in yourself. To do this, select the number of tickets you want, making sure you fill in the name and email address of all party members. We regret that, due to the nature of the event, it is not possible to offer a concession rate.
Tony Norquay – Compere Extraordinaire!
Important information
*Use the main gate at the St Kilda Sports Club – this is down the RHS of the club, opposite the public car park. There will be a ‘Function’ sign on the gate and ‘HEMF’ sign on the door.
*Gather friends and colleagues together and make it a reunion!
*We will have a silent auction and a raffle.
*Parking – street parking, public car park and paid car park readily available.
What to bring to the dance party:
*Just ‘put your glad rags on –’as long as you can dance in them!
*Make sure you invite and bring colleagues and friends!
Jane Guthrie – janeguthrie3@icloud.com
Maria Sangiorgi – dancingisis@gmail.com
Elizabeth Mackenzie – elizabethmackenzie@fastmail.com.au