ABOUT
"James Welsby deserves plaudits as performer, but especially as director, working hard with the cast to lift the show beyond cabaret and turn it into some undeniable: YUMMY is a joy machine."
- David Collins for Arts Review
"Welsby has created something powerful that both celebrates and questions the weight of history... Hex is an enormous step up and forward, and a sign of his promise as a dancemaker."
- Jordan Beth Vincent, Dance Reviewer for The Age
James Welsby is an artistic director and arts manager with twenty years of professional experience in the performing arts. He is soon to complete a Masters of Business (Arts and Cultural Management) at Deakin University, and has studied Small Business Management at RMIT (2013). He graduated from the VCA School of Dance in 2007 specialising in contemporary dance.
In 2008 James founded Phantom Limbs Dance Company (winner of the Melbourne Festival "Discovery Award” and "Melbourne Fringe Best Dance" 2013). His experiences in dance lead him to perform with companies and choreographers like Cadi McCarthy, Buzz Dance Theatre, Martin Del Amo, Luke George, Nat Cursio, Opera Australia (HOSH) and many more. James was mentored by Stephanie Lake through JUMP Mentoring for a year and was selected for the Kickstart Program at Next Wave Festival 2013. He has created six full-length dance works and has been an artist in residence at Dancehouse and The Bowery Theatre. He taught contemporary dance at Chunky Move for five years from 2010 - 2015, and has been a guest teacher/ choreographer at NICA, WAAPA, VCA, Dancehouse, and the RAD.
In addition to contemporary dance, James has had an extensive career in drag and cabaret. In 2015, James founded YUMMY Productions ("Best Cabaret Production" and "Best Ensemble" Green Room Awards 2018) which followed with the creation of ten full-length cabaret productions. As the artistic director and CEO of YUMMY, James led an ensemble of performers to over 60 festivals around the world, garnering 4 and 5 star reviews from the The Scotsman, The Age, The Advertiser, The Guardian, The Times (UK), The West Australian, and many more. YUMMY's shows have been seen from regional Australia and NZ right through to the West End in London.
As his alter ego "Valerie Hex," James has also performed for acclaimed artists and companies including: Hannah Gadsby, David Sedaris, Taylor Mac, BRIEFS, Finucane and Smith, Bernie Dieter's Club Kabarett, and at hundreds of cabarets events worldwide.
As a choreographer he has created work for Circus Oz, Zoe Coombs Marr, Gary Starr, Menagerie Collective, and more, and also worked briefly as a rehearsal director for Circa Contemporary Circus.
He is now taking his extensive experiences as an artist and channelling that back into arts leadership.