Dance in Australia spans a wide range of traditions and styles.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance dates back thousands of years, and serves as an important form of storytelling and cultural ritual. Following European settlement, folk traditions from England, Ireland, and Scotland evolved into a distinctly Australian style known asbush dance. More recently, classical performance has risen in prominence through institutions such as theAustralian Ballet.
Australia has also given rise to unique styles like theMelbourne Shuffle, a rave dance from the late 1980s, andNew Vogue, a sequence-based form of ballroom dancing.
TraditionalAboriginal Australian dance dates back thousands of years, and was closely associated with song and was understood and experienced as making present the reality of theDreamtime. In some instances, they would imitate the actions of a particular animal as part of telling a story. For the people in their own country it defined roles, responsibilities and the place itself. These ritual performances gave them an understanding of themselves in the interplay of social, geographical and environmental forces. The performances were associated with specific places and dance grounds were often sacred places. The body decoration and specific gestures related to kin and other relationships, such as to Dreamtime beings. Some groups hold their dances secret or sacred. Gender is an important factor in some ceremonies with men and women having separate ceremonial traditions, such as the Crane Dance.[1]
The term "corroboree" is sometimes used by non-Indigenous Australians to refer to any Aboriginal dance, although this term has its origins among the people of theSydney region.[2]
ForTorres Strait Islander people, singing and dancing is their "literature" – "the most important aspect of Torres Strait lifestyle. The Torres Strait Islanders preserve and present their oral history through songs and dances;...the dances act as illustrative material and, of course, the dancer himself [sic] is the storyteller".[3] There are many songs about the weather; others about the myths and legends; life in the sea andtotemic gods; and about important events. "The dancing and its movements express the songs and acts as the illustrative material".[4]
In the latter part of the 20th century, the influence of Indigenous Australian dance traditions was seen with the development of concert dance, particularly in contemporary dance with theNational Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (established 1975) and theAboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA, founded 1997) providing training to Indigenous Australians in dance, and theBangarra Dance Theatre (founded 1989).[citation needed] With a new sense of pride emerging in a number of Aboriginal organisations inRedfern, Sydney, theAboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern (ADTR) was established in 1979.[5]
TheNational Aboriginal Dance Council Australia (NADCA, also referred to as National Aboriginal Dance Council of Australia[6]) was established in 1995.[5] With support fromAusdance, NADCA and ADRT founder Christine Donnelly convened three three major Indigenous dance conferences.[7] The first conference was held in Sydney in 1995.[8] The second was held in Adelaide in 1997; it included discussion ofcultural and intellectual property rights and copyright issues for Australian Indigenous dancers.[9] The third conference took place in Sydney in 1999, and was funded by theAustralia Council.[10]
Bush dance has developed in Australia as a form of folk dance, drawing on traditions from English, Irish, Scottish and other European dance. Favourite dances in the community include dances of European descent such as the IrishCéilidh "Pride of Erin" and thequadrille "The Lancers".[citation needed]
One of the most well-known Australian bush dances is theNutbush, aline dance typically performed to the American songNutbush City Limits byIke & Tina Turner. The Nutbush was developed around 1975 as part of an effort to modernize physical education and creative arts curricula for state primary and secondary schools.[11] It was subsequently popularised and has seen sustained success to this day, including gaining viral popularity internationally throughTikTok.[12][13]
In 1980 theBushwackers Band publishedThe Bushwackers Band Dance Book and a companion LP containing a number of Australian bush dances. These were largely existing folk dances that had republished with more Australian names. For example, Waves of Tory became Waves of Bondi, the Ninepinquadrille became the Drongo and theVirginia Reel became Strip the Willow.[14]
The Australian Ballet was founded in 1962. It is the foremostclassical ballet company in Australia, and is recognised as one of the world's major international ballet companies.[15] It is based inMelbourne and performs works from the classical repertoire as well as contemporary works by major Australian and international choreographers. As of 2010, the Australian Ballet presented approximately 200 performances in cities and regional areas around Australia each year as well as on international tours. Regular venues include theArts Centre Melbourne,Sydney Opera House,Sydney Theatre,Adelaide Festival Centre andQueensland Performing Arts Centre.[16]
Other prominent Australian classical ballet companies include theQueensland Ballet andWest Australian Ballet.
Renowned Australian ballet dancers include English-born DamePeggy van Praagh andRobert Helpmann, both of whom served as artistic directors for the Australian Ballet.[citation needed]
Li Cunxin, acclaimed ballerino and author of the best-selling autobiographyMao's Last Dancer, moved to Melbourne in 1995 where he became a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet. He subsequently worked as the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet from 2012 to 2023.[citation needed]
TheMelbourne shuffle is arave dance that developed inMelbourne in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The dance moves involve a fast heel-and-toe movement or T-step, combined with a variation of therunning man coupled with a matching arm action. The dance is improvised and involves "repeatedly shuffling your feet inwards, then outwards, while thrusting your arms up and down, or side to side, in time with the beat".[citation needed]
TheNew Vogue is an Australian style ofsequenceBallroom dancing. Each New Vogue dance has a fixed set of steps can be learnt in advance. Compared to traditional Ballroom dancing which is heavily reliant on the skill of the leader, New Vogue dances are more accessible to beginners as both partners can learn the steps and dance together. New Vogue Dancing is one of the threeDancesport styles in Australia, in addition to traditional Ballroom and Latin American.[17]
Baz Luhrmann's popular 1992 filmStrictly Ballroom, starringPaul Mercurio, contributed to an increased interest in dance competition in Australia, and popular dance shows such asSo You Think You Can Dance have featured on television in recent years.[citation needed]
Abush doof is a type of outdoor dance party that originated in Australia in the 1990s, similar to arave. Bush doofs are usually held in a remote country area or outside a large city in surrounding bush or rainforest, and generally featureelectronic dance music. Events referred to asdoofs are now held worldwide and have built from a small set of social groups to a subculture with millions of active members.[citation needed]
Those dance companies funded by the Major Performing Arts Board of theAustralia Council and from state arts agencies are listed below.[citation needed]
First published 2002, edited and revised 2007.(alsohere)
...funded by the Dance Fund of theAustralia Council