Street youth, elderly dancers, writers, musicians and even puppeteers are celebrating the announcement of ACT Arts Funds grants worth almost $750,000.
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More than 50 community groups and individuals will launch a long list of projects thanks to grants ranging from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands.
The largest amount went to ANU School of Music senior lecturer Susanne Powell, who received the $45,000 Creative Arts Fellow grant to fund research into the celeste.
Similar to an upright piano, but with a sound more akin to a glockenspiel, the celeste is a musical instrument featured most famously in Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
In her fellowship year, Powell intends to study and investigate the playing techniques and repertoire of the celeste in Australia, Europe and US. The experience is likely to turn the Canberra Symphony Orchestra pianist into one of the few celeste specialists in Australia.
Others to receive grants included Communities@Work, which received $15,000 to run a project for young street artists; Elizabeth Cameron-Dalman, who received $39,750 for a cross-cultural dance collaboration; and Joy McDonald, who received $18,808 to create a puppet play.
Those at the Canberra Dance Theatre were particularly excited to receive $9470 to run Saturday dance classes for elderly and special needs groups. Artistic director Liz Lea said, ''Without this money we wouldn't be able to run these dance classes full stop ... We've already run dance classes for younger special needs people and they are so excited, they actually demand to come.
''They provide physical activity, training, focus but most of all socialising, which has been one of the biggest benefits for our elderly dance classes as well.''
Ms Lea said her oldest dance participant was 89.
''It really is such a beautiful service to provide,'' she said.