The Australian Bite

Netball, food and dancing – a winning combination!

23 July 2009

Listen and download: MP3

This week on the Australian Bite, we meet two of Australia’s top netballers as they prepare for this weekend’s Trans Tasman Trophy Grand Final.  We’ll find out about an international online dance competition that could give you the chance to dance at the Sydney Opera House.  And we take a look at the reality cooking show that had Australian television viewers glued to their sets.

My Mutation - a chance to dance at the Sydney Opera House

My Mutation is a worldwide online dance competition being run by the Sydney Opera House that gives the winner the opportunity to perform on stage at the Opera House. The competition, which runs until August 10 is the brainchild of Wendy Martin, who is responsible for creating the theatre and dance programs at the Opera House, and Stephen Burstow, who is a producer and director of performing arts programs for television. I spoke to Wendy Martin to find out more about the competition and most importantly, how to enter.

You can check ot the My Mutation website and enter the competion here

Trans-Tasman Trophy puts netball in the spotlight

Sport is a national obsession in Australia, and the media is  full of stories about cricket, Australian Rules football, rugby and soccer. But there’s another sport in this country that’s played by over a million people, ninety six percent of them women. In fact it’s the top team-based sport played by young people aged 15-24. That sport is netball, and I caught up with two of Australia’s top netball players – Renae Hallinan and Caitlin Thwaites from the Melbourne Vixens – to talk about netball in Australia, and this weekend’s Trans Tasman Netball Trophy Grand Final between the Vixens and the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

UPDATE! The Melbourne Vixens defeated the Adelaide Thunderbirds 54-46 to take out the Trans Tasman Netball Championship.

More details on the Trans Tasman Netball Trophy here

Find out more about netball in Australia at the Netball Australia website

Reality cooking show breaks Australian TV records

Last Sunday evening, three and a half million Australians sat down in their lounge rooms, turned on their televisions and tuned in to the grand finale of Master Chef Australia – a cooking challenge show. The reality TV series was a huge success, out-rating other reality shows like Big Brother and even Australian Idol, and it appealed to viewers of all ages. So what were the winning ingredients that got so many Australians hooked on the show?  Patrick Abboud set out in search of some answers.

This story was originally broadcast on Triple J’s Hack program

Music (not in podcast)

The new single from Australian DJ and producer Tommy Trash has stirred up controversy for its allegedly soft porn video clip which features two scantily clad women in a shower (how original!)and of all things, a singing hairdryer. But whatever people think about the clip, the single has certainly taken off, debuting at number 14 on the Australian record industry charts.

Artist: Tommy Trash

Track: Need Me to Stay

Album: Ministry of Sound Sessions 6 (2009 compilation – various artists)