Meryl Tankard is an Australian

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

who has a wide national and international reputation.

Early life and education

Tankard's father served in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and the family moved to various bases during her early years. She was born in Darwin, but had her first dance lessons in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Several years later the family moved to Penang, Malaysia and was influenced by

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

's colour and ceremony. Later, living near Newcastle,

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 ...

, Tankard took classes in Newcastle and then 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 ...

before entering the

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson's, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teache ...

School in 1974.

Career

Tankard's professional career began as a dancer with the Australian Ballet at the end of 1975. She also choreographed her first work, ''Birds behind Bars'', for a choreographic workshop program, ''Dance Horizons'', in 1977. Tankard's early successes as a performer came when she worked in Germany with

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

and her

Tanztheater Wuppertal Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mo ...

between 1978 and 1984; Tankard was a principal artist and toured extensively. Meryl created roles in Cafe Muller, Kontakhof, Arien, Keuscheitslegende, 1980, Bandoneon, Walzer. In 1980 she played the leading role in the movie '' Quackfurdonald Mit Lieben Gruss'', filmed in Munich and

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

and screened on German television. In 1982 she co-wrote and performed in ''Sydney on the Wupper'', a short film awarded the Silver Film Band for Best Short Film at the 1983

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. She then spent several years between Australia and Europe. In Europe she was a guest performer with Bausch's company as well as performing in Lindsay Kemp's Company. In Australia in 1984 she made ''Echo Point'', and in 1986 performed in

Robyn Archer Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL (born 1948) is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally. Life Archer was born Robyn Smith in Prospect, South Australia. She beg ...

's television production of ''

The Pack of Women ''The Pack of Woman'' was a cabaret devised by Australian performer and director Robyn Archer, first performed in London in 1981. Although funny and entertaining, the work also set out to shock audiences into examining the role of women in Wester ...

'' for ABC TV and played co-lead in the ABC TV series ''

Dancing Daze ''Dancing Daze'' is a 1986 Australian mini series about two sisters from Wagga Wagga who leave their family pig farm to make it as dancers in the big city.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p186 ...

'', produced by

Jan Chapman Jan Chapman (born 28 March 1950) is an Australian film producer. Films produced by Chapman include ''The Last Days of Chez Nous'' (1992), ''The Piano'' (1993), '' Love Serenade'' (1996), ''Holy Smoke!'' (1999), and ''Lantana'' (2001). While st ...

. In 1986 she created ''Travelling Light''. In 1988 she created and performed solo her full-length ''Two Feet'', which marked a major turning point in the creative collaboration she had established with photographer and visual artist Regis Lansac who created visual projections to accompany Two Feet and continued to develop this aspect of their collaboration. In 1989 Tankard was offered the directorship of a small company in

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the List of citi ...

, which she named the Meryl Tankard Company. Works in Canberra included ''Banshee'' (1989), ''VX18504'' (1989), ''Nuti'' (1990), ''Kikimora'' (1990), ''Court of Flora'' (1990), ''Chants de Mariage'' I and II (1991–1992), and ''Songs with Mara'' (1992). Tankard also revived ''Echo Point'' and ''Two Feet'', collaborated with the theatre director

Pierre Bokor Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

on ''Circo'' (1991), and created choreography for

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

's '' Death in Venice'' (1989), and made ''Sloth'' as part of ''Seven Deadly Sins'' - a program by seven contemporary Australian choreographers filmed for television by the ABC in 1993. She moved to

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

as Director of Australian Dance Theatre. Tankard created ''Furioso'' (1993), ''Aurora'' (1994), ''Possessed'' (1995), ''Rasa'' (1996), ''Seulle'' (1997) and ''Inuk'' (1997). She also choreographed ''The Deep End'' (1996) for the

and ''Orphee et Euridyce'' for

. Under Tankard's leadership, Australian Dance Theatre toured extensively worldwide. It was the first Australian company to be invited to perform at the prestigious

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a performing arts venue in Brooklyn, New York City, known as a center for progressive and avant-garde performance. It presented its first performance in 1861 and began operations in its present location in ...

in New York. Tankard left Adelaide in 1999 and began a career as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

choreographer. Her commissions have included: *1998 = ''Bolero'' for the

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Opera Ballet; *2000 = ''choreography for he Beautiful Game (musical)'' for Andrew Lloyd Webber on London's Westend; *2001 = a commission by Tiffany & Co. at New York's Museum of National History; *2002 = a commission by the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games to create ''Deep Sea Dreaming'' for the opening ceremony; *2002 = ''Ocean Dance'' to honour the Dalai Lama in tribute concert Sydney Opera House and ''Merryland'' for

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Dance Theatre 3 *2003 = ''Pearl'' for the thirtieth birthday celebrations of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

and ''[ *2003 = 'Wild Swans' for the

and the

, a full-length work based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy story to a new score by Elena Kats-Chernin *2004 = ''@North'', for the Berlin Ballet and ''Petrouchka'' for Netherlands Dance Theatre 1 in The Hague *2006 = choreography for "Tarzan" for Disney on Broadway, New York *2007 = created "Kaidan" for the

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney that runs for three weeks every January, since it was established in 1977. The festival program features in excess of 100 events from local and international artists an ...

and

with

TaikOz Taikoz is a taiko ensemble based in Sydney, Australia. Formed in 1997, they are credited with not only being an early Australian taiko ensemble, but for also broadly expanding interest in taiko performance in Australian society. History Taikoz ...

*2008 = created "Inuk 2" for Sydney Dance Company *2009 = "The Oracle" for

and Malthouse Melbourne *In 2010, Tankard gained a graduate diploma in film directing from Australian Film, Television and Radio School and directed two short films, ''Moth'' and ''Mad''. *2011 = "Cinderella" for Leipzig Ballet with

Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

*2015 = Directed and co-produced Michelle's Story, 29min documentary (commissioned by ABC TV and Adelaide Film Festival). Awards for Michelle's Story - Adel Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary, Screen South Australia Award for Best Short Film, Best documentary, Best Soundtrack. Aust Dance Award - Most Outstanding Dance film. * 2016 = Performed MCA * 2016 = Directed and choreographed Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game at WAAPA Perth * 2018 = Performed and created - Meet Meryl and Jo in Bonn Germany - Pina Bausch Retrospective * 2018 = Choreographed Camille Claude for Theatre de l’Athenee Paris * 2018 = Remounted Furioso for Royal Ballet of Flanders Antwerp, Gent - Belgium * 2019 = Produced Two Feet film of original production with Meryl Tankard screened at IMZ Dance on Screen Festival Wuppertal * 2019 = Created Two Feet for Adelaide Festival with Natalia Osipova * 2019 = Created Zizanie for Adelaide Festival for Restless Dance Theatre

Awards

*2019 = Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) *2016 = Recipient of the Jim Bettison & Helen James Award *2010 = Outstanding Choreography award Australian Dance Awards for The Oracle *2004 = Creative Fellowship

Australia Council 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 ...

*2001 =

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

*2002 = Lifetime Achievement award Australian Dance Awards *2000 =

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

for Costume Design for Deep Sea dreaming for Olympic Games Opening Ceremony 2000 *2000 = Nomination for

Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awa ...

''Beautiful Game'' *1998 = Mobil Pegasus Award for Best Production "Inuk' Summer Festival Hamburg *1995 = ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' Performing Arts Award (dance) for Best Collaboration for ''Orpheus and Euridice'' with

Australian Opera Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...

*1994 = Betty Pounder Award for Original Choreography for "Nuti" *1994 = Victorian Green Room Awards for Dance Direction, Design, Management for "Nuti and Kikimora" *1993 = Victorian Green Room Award for Female Dancer in leading role "Two Feet" *1993 = Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for Individual Achievement *1992 = Canberran of the Year *1983 = Silver Bear for Best Short Film

"Sydney an der Wupper"

Early life and education

Career

Awards

References

Further reading