Australia Dancing - Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (1976

Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (1976 - )

Chittick, Lee: Artists of the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre, 1979

The Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) was set up as an ongoing performing group in 1976. It was originally made up of young people participating in Careers in Dance, a full-time dance training course for Aboriginal and Islander students initiated in 1975 by the Aboriginal Arts Board and led by Carole Johnson. The company developed to include teachers, graduate students and advanced students of what eventually became NAISDA (National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association) College. The company also frequently invited guest artists to perform with it. AIDT became a professional performing group in 1988 and was formally launched as a company in 1991 under the artistic directorship of Raymond Blanco. Prior to that date it operated without a formal structure.

The AIDT repertoire has always been based on traditional and contemporary dance with its early promotional material stressing the aim of promoting the modern Aboriginal/Islander identity. Works in the AIDT repertoire include Jedda (1991), Maralji (1991), Yirrkala (1991), Colours (1993), Gelam (1993), On the Spot (1994), and Sanctum (1994). Non-Indigenous choreographers who have worked with the company include Ronne Arnold, Robina Beard, Elisabeth Burke and Pierre Thibaudeau, Kate Champion, Kai Tai Chan, Karen Kerkhoven, Chrissie Koltai, Paul Saliba and Cheryl Stock. Traditional dances are passed on by Indigenous artists, who have included David Gulpilil, Janet Munyarryun, Veronica Munyarryun, Stephen Page, Dell Sebasio and Bernadette Walong.

In its early years AIDT was directed by Carole Johnson. In 1991 the company's first formal director was Raymond Blanco and its founding dancers were Marilyn Miller, Cheryl Pitt, Breee-an Jordan Munns, Dujon Niue, Gary Lang, Matthew Doyle and Raymond Blanco. AIDT's first international tour was in 1977 when Wayne Nicol, Michael Leslie, Richard Talonga, Lillian Crombie and guest artist Roslyn Watson participated in the African and Black World Festival of Arts and Culture in Nigeria. Its first international tour as a company was in 1988 when AIDT performed in Finland and Germany. The company has since toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally to many countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

For further discussion of the events that led to the formation of AIDT see 'Dreaming tracks', a thesis by Raymond Robinson.

Research Materials

Ephemera | Moving picture | Picture | Reference text | All

Other resources

Find more about Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia