NAISDA Dance College
The NAISDA Dance College is a performing arts training college based in Gosford, New South Wales for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. It was established as the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) in 1975, out of which arose the dance troupe Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre arose. Several of its dancers and choreographers went on to form Bangarra Dance Theatre.
History
The National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association was established in 1975 to train Indigenous Australians in dance.[1] It arose from a collaboration of choreographers trained in Western dance styles and cultural custodians of traditional Aboriginal dance, led by Carole Johnson.[2] Among its first intake of students were Lillian Crombie, Wayne Nicol, Michael Leslie, Richard Talonga, and Roslyn Watson.[3]
The Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT), which arose out of NAISDA in 1976, was the first contemporary Indigenous Australian dance company,[4] and toured nationally and internationally.[5] AIDT remained a part of the NAISDA under the artistic direction from 1989 of Raymond D. Blanco, the first Indigenous person to lead a dance company in Australia, disbanding following the departure of Blanco in 1998. Johnson's company went on to become Bangarra Dance Theatre.[6]
Until 2007, NAISDA was located in the inner Sydney suburbs of Redfern, Glebe and The Rocks, before moving to Gosford.[2]
As of 2008, NAISDA was funded as an arts education "Centre of Excellence" by the Australian Government and was also supported by the New South Wales Government. It was a registered training organisation offering Certificates II, III and IV and a Diploma in Careers in Dance, and was a member of the Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence.[7]
Description and governance
NAISDA is based in Gosford's Mount Penang Parklands on the Central Coast of New South Wales,[2] on Darkinjung land. Graduates have worked in arts management, dance, music, theatre and film, both at the elite and community level.[8]
As of 2021[update], NAISDA Ltd is a limited company that runs the Dance College, and is governed by a board which includes Wesley Enoch and Elizabeth Butcher AM and is chaired by Maryah Sonter.[9] The NAISDA Foundation is a separate fund-raising entity, whose patron since its establishment in December 2013 is Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO.[10] It continues to be funded by the Australian and New South Wales Governments.[11]
In film and television
NAISDA was the subject of an ABC TV documentary, From Dreamtime to Dance, broadcast in 2002.[1][12][13]
References
- ^ a b Castaldi, André (2 July 2002). "ABC TV Documentaries: Dreamtime to Dance". ABC TV. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ a b c "History of NAISDA". NAISDA Dance College. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ Leslie, Michael (December 2016). 2.5: A Journey towards Adolescence and an Aboriginal Dance Method (Master of Fine Arts). University of New South Wales.
- ^ National Library of Australia (31 July 2008). "Australia Dancing - Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (1976 - )". Archived from the original (text) on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ "Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre [catalogue entry]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Zoe Pollock (2008). "Aboriginal and Islander Dance Theatre". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (15 September 2008). "Arts training bodies". Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Who We Are". NAISDA Dance College. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "NAISDA Ltd Board". NAISDA Dance College. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ "NAISDA Foundation Patron and Board". NAISDA Dance College. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
- ^ NAISDA Dance College (2020). "NAISDA Dance College Annual Report 2020". Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via Issuu.
- ^ Kelly, Patricia (2002). "Dreamtime to Dance: Study Guide" (PDF). Australian Screen Education Online (29): 11. ISSN 1443-1629. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
- ^ Dreamtime to Dance promo on YouTube
External links
- "National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association Dance College". Diversity of Cultural Expressions. UNESCO. 6 November 2018.
- Robinson, Raymond Stanley (1 January 1970). Dreaming tracks: History of the Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Scheme, 1972-1979: Its place in the continuum. ResearchDirect (MA (Hons)). Western Sydney University.
