Australian Dance Theatre

The Australian Dance Theatre was founded by Elizabeth Dalman, later Elizabeth Cameron Dalman, in 1965.[1][2] Dalman sought to "open the horizons for provocative contemporary and cutting edge dance".[1] The ADT was the first modern dance company in Australia, and drew on the techniques of Martha Graham for its inspiration. Eleo Pomare was an early collaborator and the songs of Peter, Paul and Mary featured strongly in their early works, such as "This Train".

Under Meryl Tankard 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.[3]

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

ADT has garnered 28 industry awards since 2002, was the first Australian company invited to the Edinburgh Festival and is the only Australian company to be invited to perform at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris.

The artistic directors have been:

• 1965–1975: Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM[4][5]
• 1977–1985: Jonathan Taylor (former dancer Ballet Rambert, UK),[6][7]
• 1986–1987: Anthony Steel (Adelaide Festival & Lenny Westerdijk (ADT dancer)
• 1987–1993: Leigh Warren (creator and director of Leigh Warren & Dancers, 1993–2019, now Dance Hub SA)[8]
• 1993–1999: Meryl Tankard[9] (left after disputes with the Board)
• 1999: Bill Pengelly (interim)[10]
• 1999–2018:Garry Stewart [11][12][13]

Choreographed by Dalman:[4][5]

• 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:[7]

• Wildstars
• Transfigured Night

Choreographed by Warren:[8]

• Among his own works invited: (?)
  • Kate Champion
  • Graeme Murphy AO
  • William Forsythe (USA)

Choreographed by Tankard:[9]

• Re-worked pieces:
  • Songs with Mara
  • Kikimora
• New works:
  • 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:[10]

• Split

Choreographed by Stewart:[11]

• Housedance (performed on the outside of the main sail of the Sydney Opera House on New Year's Eve 1999)
• Birdbrain (the most performed contemporary dance work in the history of Australian dance)
• The Age of Unbeauty (2002 Australian Dance Awards Outstanding Choreographic Achievement)[14]
• HELD (a collaboration with U.S. dance photographer Lois Greenfield[15] - 2004 Adelaide Bank Festival – Helpmann Award for Best Choreography in a Ballet or Dance Work)
• Nothing
• Vocabulary (a collaboration with Kat Worth and Restless Dance Theatre, South Australia)
• Devolution (premiered at the 2006 Adelaide Festival and a collaboration with Canadian robotics artist Louis-Philippe Demers[16] – 2006 Helpmann Awards Best New Australian Work & Best Lighting)
• Worldhood (a collaboration with Visual Artist – Thomas Buchanan)
• G "Giselle" (premiered at the 2008 Adelaide Festival) G is a reworked representation of the 1800s ballet Giselle, without the pretty dancing peasants.
• Collision Course (a collaboration with CM Films – Carmelo Musca, Western Australia)
• Be Your Self (a collaboration with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, USA)
• Proximity (a collaboration with Video Artist/Engineer – Thomas Pachoud, France)
• Multiverse (created in collaboration with Deakin University, audiences view the performance through 3D glasses. Co-commissioned by La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d’Ascq (France), Theater im Pfalzbau, Ludwigshafen (Germany) and Théâtre National de Chaillot, Paris (France)
• Habitus (premiered at the 2016 Adelaide Festival – 2016 Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Work (Kimball Wong)
• Objekt (created in collaboration with Germany’s tanzmainz – the contemporary dance company of Staatstheater Mainz, lead by its Director Honne Dohrmann).
• The Beginning of Nature (Acclaimed composer, Brendan Woithe, collaborated with Kaurna consultant, Jack Buckskin, to develop the original score which includes a libretto sung in Kaurna language, the first language of the Adelaide Plains, home to ADT)

The ADT is funded by the federal government through the Australia Council, the Government of South Australia through the Department of the Premier and Cabinet[17] (1997–2018 via Arts South Australia) and a number of corporate partners and sponsors, as well as private donors.[18]

• "Australian Dance Theatre". AusStage.
• Australian Dance Theatre. Australia Dancing (Archived page)

• Australian Dance Theatre