Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) was the first

dance company A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different styles of dan ...

used to train Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

students on their dancing career, and grew into a performance group. Originating in the

National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association The NAISDA Dance College (usually referred to as simply NAISDA) is a performing arts training college based in Kariong, New South Wales for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. It was established as the Aboriginal Islander ...

(predecessor to NAISDA), it was based in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and operated from 1976 to 1998.

History

The group has its origins in "Careers in Dance", a full-time dance training course established in 1975 for Aboriginal and Islander students by the

Aboriginal Arts Board The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

and headed by

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

dancer Carole Johnson, who had links to the Black Power movement in the United States. She set up classes in St James Church Hall in the Sydney suburb of

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, where the training included traditional as well as contemporary styles of dance. The group of student dancers established in 1976 grew to include teachers as well as advanced and graduate students of the NAISDA (

) Dance College, and in 1988 became a professional performing group. In 1977 AIDT embarked on its first international tour, with Wayne Nicol,

Michael Leslie Michael Leslie (born 28 January 1993) is a former Scottish professional snooker player. Leslie turned professional in 2012 after winning the 2012 EBSA European Under-21 Snooker Championships and gained a two-year tour card for the 2012–13 ...

, Richard Talonga,

Lillian Crombie Lillian Crombie (born 1958) is an Aboriginal Australian actress and dancer, known for her work on stage, film and television. Early life and education Lillian Crombie was born in 1958. She is of the Pitjantjatjara/ Yankunytjatjara people of cen ...

and Roslyn Watson (as guest artist) performing at the Second African and Black World Festival of Arts and Culture (

FESTAC 77 Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first was in Dakar, 1966), was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 January 1977 to 12 February 1977. The month-long event ce ...

) in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. After undergoing its transformation into a large professional dance troupe in 1988, AIDT performed in Finland and Germany, and later toured throughout Australia, as well as in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company became known as the most toured dance company in Australia. In 1989 Johnson resigned, believing at that time that the school and the company were too closely connected, and their aims sometimes conflicted. There were multiple government grants from various sources, demanding different criteria and creating a large administrative burden. John Alderman was appointed to the role of leading the company in 1987, but the Aboriginal Arts Board soon afterwards directed that senior roles needed to be occupied by Aboriginal people, or it would withdraw its funding. In 1991

Raymond D. Blanco Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

, who also danced with the company, became

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

, the first Indigenous Australian to lead a dance company. The company wound up in 1998.

People

Notable dancers in the 1970s included Wayne Nicol,

, Richard Talonga, and

Malcolm Cole Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máel C ...

(1949-1995), was an Aboriginal and

South Sea Islander South Sea Islanders are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands and New Irelandwho were kidnappe ...

man from

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

, who later also taught at the college. He is especially remembered for his participation in the 1988

Sydney Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

, in which, in collaboration with artist Panos Couros, he enacted the story of the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

, with himself as

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

– the first ever Aboriginal float entry in the parade. Notable dancers in the 1980s included Monica Stevens and Sylvia Blanco. Stevens is featured in "NAISDA with Monica Stevens", an episode in the 2013 documentary television series '' Desperate Measures''. It is available on

SBS on Demand SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...

. Dance tutors included Janet Munyarryun, Larry Gurruwiwi.

Notable works

*''Gelam'', choreographed by Dujon Niue, the first ever adaptation of a Torres Strait Island legend *''Colours'', the first contemporary interpretation of Indigenous use of colour, in a concept from dancer Gary Lang and choreographed by Marilyn Miller, Dujon Niue and Raymond Blanco

Notable students

Gail Mabo Gail Mabo (born 1965) is an Australian visual artist who has had her work exhibited across Australia. She is the daughter of land rights campaigner Eddie Mabo and educator and activist Bonita Mabo . She was formerly a dancer and choreographer ...

, 1984 to 1987 *

Stephen Page Stephen George Page (born 1965) is an Australian choreographer, film director and former dancer. He is the current artistic director of the Bangarra Dance Theatre, an Indigenous Australian dance company. Page is descended from the Nunukul peopl ...

References

External links

*{{Citation , author1=Seselja, Loui. , title=Creating Pathways Forum, a national Indigenous dance forum, National Museum of Australia, 27-30 October 2005 , year=2005 , section=33 digital photographs : col. , publisher= , url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-131601806 , id=nla.obj-131601806 , access-date=31 August 2022 , via=

Trove Trove is an Australian online library database owned by the National Library of Australia in which it holds partnerships with source providers National and State Libraries Australia, an aggregator and service which includes full text document ...