Australian Dance Theatre
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Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), known as Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999, is a
contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...
company based in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, established in 1965 by
Elizabeth Cameron Dalman Elizabeth Cameron Dalman (born 1934) is an Australian choreographer, teacher, and performer. She founded Australian Dance Theatre and was its artistic director from 1965 to 1975. She is also the founding director of Mirramu Dance Company. Earl ...
. The ADT was the first
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...
company in Australia, and drew on the techniques of
Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...
for its inspiration. The company has garnered many industry awards, was the first Australian company invited to the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
, and is the only Australian company to be invited to perform at
Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...
in Paris. The company has toured performances extensively throughout Australia as well as internationally. the artistic director of the company is Daniel Riley, who took over after
Garry Stewart Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned f ...
had spent 22 years at the helm.


History

The Australian Dance Theatre was founded by Elizabeth Dalman (later Elizabeth Cameron Dalman ) in 1965. Dalman sought to "open the horizons for provocative contemporary and cutting edge dance". The ADT was the first modern dance company in Australia, and drew on the techniques of Martha Graham for its inspiration.
Eleo Pomare Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on contemporary dance, especially Bl ...
was an early collaborator and the songs of
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
featured strongly in their early works, such as "
This Train "This Train", also known as "This Train Is Bound for Glory", is a traditional American gospel song first recorded in 1922. Although its origins are unknown, the song was relatively popular during the 1920s as a religious tune, and it became a gospe ...
". Dalman remained
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 ...
until 1975. Several directors followed, including Leigh Warren, who took the reins from 1987 to 1993. Under
Meryl Tankard Meryl Tankard is an Australian dancer and choreographer who has a wide national and international reputation. Early life and education Tankard's father served in the Royal Australian Air Force and the family moved to various bases during her ea ...
as artistic director from 1993 to 1999, the company was known as the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre. Tankard left after disputes with the Board. After an interim directorship under Bill Pengelly,
Garry Stewart Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned f ...
was appointed in 1999. In May 2021 ''Convergence'' was performed at the ADT's home base, the Odeon Theatre, Norwood. Supported by the
Tanja Liedtke Foundation The Tanja Liedtke Foundation (German: Tanja Liedtke Stiftung) is a German-based charity supporting modern and contemporary dance. History The foundation was established in July 2008 in honour of the dancer and choreographer, Tanja Liedtke who was ...
, this series of short performances brought together the work of three winners of the
International Choreographic Competition Hannover 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 ...
: Philippe Kratz (2018 winner, Germany); Oscar Buthelezi (2019 winner, South Africa); and Tu Hoang (2020 winner, Vietnam); of the newly formed
South Australian First Nations Dance Collective South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
(who danced to the music of
Electric Fields Electric Fields are an Aboriginal Australian electronic music duo made up of vocalist Zaachariaha Fielding and keyboard player and producer Michael Ross. Electric Fields combine modern electric-soul music with Aboriginal culture and sing in Pi ...
); and of
Barkandji The Paakantyi, or Barkindji or Barkandji, are an Australian Aboriginal tribal group of the Darling River (known to them as the Baaka) basin in Far West New South Wales, Australia. Name The ethnonym Paakantyi means "River people", formed from ...
woman Adrianne Semmens, a member of the SAFNDC and associate artist of ADT for 2021. Despite the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, South Australia, being free of the virus at that time, was able to play to 100% capacity. The performance was well-reviewed.
Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...
man Daniel Riley, who spent 12 years with
Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-born ...
and then time as a lecturer in contemporary dance at the
Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...
, took over as artistic director at the end of 2021. Riley is the first Indigenous person to become an artistic director of a non-Indigenous dance company in Australia. This responsibility weighs heavily on him, but he was inspired by playwright
Wesley Enoch Wesley James Enoch (born 1969) is an Australian playwright and artistic director. He is especially known for ''The 7 Stages of Grieving'', co-written with Deborah Mailman. He was artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company from mid-2 ...
, the first Indigenous artistic director of a major theatre company, at
Queensland Theatre Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...
. Before his appointment he had performed and choreographed extensively in Australia and internationally. While at Bangarra, he was the youngest male in the company to choreograph a work, creating a work called ''Riley'', which paid tribute to the work of Aboriginal artist
Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...
, to whom he discovered he was related, as
second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
. He has also choreographed for
QUT Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The unive ...
, Third Row Dance Company in the UK,
Sydney Dance Company Sydney Dance Company is a contemporary dance company in Australia. The company has performed on stages around the world, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Joyce Theater in New York, the Shanghai Grand Theatre in China, and the ...
, and
Louisville Ballet The Louisville Ballet is a ballet school and company based in Louisville, Kentucky and is the official state ballet of The Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is led by artistic and executive director Robert Curran, an Australian dancer and choreograp ...
. Riley met ADT founder Elizabeth Dalman when he was at school in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, aged 13, although did not know about the ADT until they toured Canberra a few years later. He has since remained friends with Dalman and they talk often. Riley believes in an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach, and is dedicated to creating shows that "can only be made here n Kaurna country not making work that looks like it's been made by a European company". The new season and troupe, with four new dancers, were unveiled in March 2022. The first performance under Riley was ''Outside Within'', a triptych of works that explores Aboriginal and post-colonial Australia, with the first of the three, ''Immerse'', choreographed by Adrianne Semmens. This was followed by a
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
made in 2021 featuring Riley and his son, called ''Mulumna-Within''; and then Riley’s first dance work choreographed by him for the company, ''The Third'' (May 2022) In September 2022 Riley presented his first major work, at the
Dunstan Playhouse Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...
in the
Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...
, called ''SAVAGE''. The performance included nine dance students from
Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...
/
AC Arts The Adelaide College of the Arts, also known as AC Arts and formerly known as Adelaide Centre for the Arts, is a campus of TAFE South Australia that specialises in performing arts education. It is located on Light Square, Adelaide, and is part ...
along with the ADT dancers.


Governance and funding

The ADT is funded by the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
through the
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 ...
, the
Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
through the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (1997–2018 via
Arts South Australia Arts South Australia (previously Arts SA) was responsible for managing the South Australian Government's funding for the arts and cultural heritage from about 1996 until late 2018, when it was progressively dismantled, a process complete by early ...
) and a number of corporate partners and sponsors, as well as private donors.


Artistic directors

The
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 ...
s have been: *1965–1975: Elizabeth Cameron Dalman *1977–1985: Jonathan Taylor (former dancer
Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...
, UK), *1986–1987: Anthony Steel (
Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
& Lenny Westerdijk (ADT dancer) *1987–1993: Leigh Warren (creator and director of Leigh Warren & Dancers, 1993–2019, now
Dance Hub SA Dance Hub SA, formerly Leigh Warren & Dancers or Leigh Warren + Dancers (LWD) and then LWDance Hub, is a contemporary dance company based in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Formed in 1993 by Leigh Warren, the company toured i ...
) *1993–1999: Meryl Tankard (left after disputes with the Board) *1999: Bill Pengelly (interim) *1999–2021:
Garry Stewart Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned f ...
*2022–: Daniel Riley


Tours

The company has toured performances extensively throughout Australia, as well as Ireland, Korea, Canada, USA, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, Japan, Spain, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Norway and Colombia.


Accolades

ADT has garnered 28 industry awards since 2002, was the first Australian company invited to the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
and is the only Australian company to be invited to perform at
Théâtre de la Ville (meaning the City Theatre) is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Inc ...
in Paris.


International Centre for Choreography

The International Centre for Choreography (ICC) at the ADT, supported by the
Tanja Liedtke Foundation The Tanja Liedtke Foundation (German: Tanja Liedtke Stiftung) is a German-based charity supporting modern and contemporary dance. History The foundation was established in July 2008 in honour of the dancer and choreographer, Tanja Liedtke who was ...
, was founded around 2016. It fosters choreographic initiatives locally and internationally, including residencies and other opportunities at ADT for the winners of the
International Choreographic Competition Hannover 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 ...
(for which Garry Stewart has been on the judging panel). Its mission is "to facilitate open research and experimentation in a supportive and professional environment". Other initiatives of the ICC include dance workshops, discussion panels, collaborations, and screen dance projects.


Selected performances

Choreographed by Dalman: *''Hallucinations'' (1966) *''This Train'' (1966) *''Landscape'' (1967) *''Sundown'' (1967) *''Sun and Moon'' (1968) *''Homage to Boticelli'' (1969) *''Creation'' (1969), *''Release of an Oath'' (1972) Choreographed by Taylor: *''Wildstars'' *''Transfigured Night'' Choreographed by Tankard: *''Songs with Mara'' *''Kikimora'' *''Furioso'' (1993) *''Aurora'' (1994) *''Possessed'' (1995) *''Rasa'' (1996), (in collaboration with Padma Menon) *''Seulle'' (1997) *''Inuk'' (1997). *''1998'' (sub-titled ''A Sampler by Meryl Tankard'') Choreographed by Pengelly: *''Split'' Choreographed by Stewart: *''Split'' (August 1999) *''House Dance'' (New Year's Eve 1999), featuring six dancers
abseil Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...
ing down the outside 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 ...
*''Birdbrain'' (2000) *''The Age of Unbeauty'' (2002) *''Nothing'' (2004) *''Held'' (2004), a collaboration with U.S. dance photographer Lois Greenfield *''Devolution'' *''G'' (2008) *''Be Your Self'' (2010) *''Worldhood'' (2011), with the Adelaide Centre for the Arts *''Proximity'' (2012) *''Objekt'' (October 2016), with tanzmainz *''The Beginning of Nature'' (March 2016), with the
Zephyr Quartet The Zephyr Quartet is a string quartet based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1999, they have been recognised with awards and have collaborated with international musicians. History Founded in 1999, Zephyr has received tuition from the ...
, performed at
Womadelaide WOMADelaide is an annual four-day festival of Music, Arts and Dance, which was first held in 1992 in Botanic Park, Adelaide, South Australia. One of many WOMAD festivals held around the world, it is a four-day event that presents a diverse select ...
Choreographed by Riley: *''The Third'', the third piece in a trilogy called ''Outside Within'', and Riley's first for the company *''SAVAGE'' (September 2022)


References


Further reading

* *. ''Australia Dancing'' (Archived page)


External links

* * * "Daniel retraces his path to ADT and outlines his vision for the company." {{authority control Dance companies in Australia Contemporary dance companies Performing arts in Adelaide Performing groups established in 1965 1965 establishments in Australia Dance schools in Australia