Australian Dance Theatre Celebrates 60 Years

Australia’s oldest continuing contemporary dance company marks its 60th anniversary in 2025. Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) is celebrating the milestone with a bumper program of performance that will see the company embark on one of its most ambitious years in recent memory.

Founded in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM CdoAL, ADT has become an international leader in the industry. The company is currently helmed by Daniel Riley – the company’s sixth Artistic Director and the first Blak artist at the head of the organisation.

“It is a total privilege to lead this visionary organisation,” says Daniel Riley, “and it’s important to me that we honour all the incredible artists, past and present, who have been a part of building the legacy of Australian Dance Theatre. This company is resilient, visionary and rebellious. I’m thrilled to be creating here on Kaurna Yerta and continue Elizabeth’s work of defining a uniquely Australian identity for dance alongside some remarkable artists.”

The year kicks off with the world premiere of A Quiet Language as part of the 2025 Adelaide Festival. Seeded out of conversation with Dalman, the work will see Riley collaborate with the Company’s ensemble of dancers to explore the history of Australian dance as it is held in the body and etched into the country upon which we tread. Directed by Riley, the work will feature an all-South Australian team with live composition by Adam Page, costume design by Ailsa Paterson, production and lighting design by Matthew Adey of House of Vnholy and dramaturgy by Alexis West. It will premiere at ADT’s home, The Odeon, from 26 February – 7 March, with new shows already added across the season to accommodate extreme demand.

Debuting in A Quiet Language will be ADT’s newest Company Artist, Yilin Kong. Returning to Australia after performing as part of the originating cast of Punchdrunk International’s The Burnt City in London, Yilin is a WAAPA graduate from Boorloo (Perth) who has broad experience across dance and physical theatre. Yilin has relocated to Adelaide and is currently in development with the company, which also features Sebastian Geilings, Zachary Lopez, Karra Nam, Patrick O’Luanaigh and Zoe Wozniak.

Running alongside the premiere of A Quiet Language will be After Images, an exhibition at the Adelaide Festival Centre showcasing seminal works from each of Australian Dance Theatre’s visionary Artistic Directors. Supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant led by Dr Maggie Tonkin, Associate Professor Cheryl Stock and Professor Rachel Fensham, After Images is co-curated by Maggie Tonkin, Siobhan Murphy, ADT’s Learning Manager Adrianne Semmens, and the Performing Arts Collection at Adelaide Festival Centre. The exhibition will showcase film, audio, costume and other ephemera from public and private collections from early February at Adelaide Festival Centre. 

“Australian Dance Theatre is a company in constant motion,” says Dr Maggie Tonkin, “Along with creating a digital archive for the company, this exhibition hopes to capture what is gained and lost when a company changes hands, reactivating iconic movements and choreographies from six decades of Australian Dance Theatre.”

In addition to the exhibition, the ARC Linkage Gant will support the creation of a digital archive of the company’s history to be hosted on Melbourne University’s Digital Dance and Theatre Platform.

With the support of the Canny Quine Foundation, the company will continue its biennial GROUNDswell residency program for First Nations choreographers, offering space to begin development on a new work in collaboration with Company Artists. The 2025 GROUNDswell artist is award-winning performer and maker Carly Sheppard. Working broadly across dance and contemporary performance as a founding member of A Daylight Connection, Sheppard will begin developing new work on the company throughout April.

The company’s ensemble of dancers will then embark on a 13-week national tour of Daniel Riley’s Marrow, which premiered to great critical acclaim at the 2024 Adelaide Festival.  Created in response to the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, Marrow is a choreographic course correction for a nation in search of a new direction – featuring muscular and uncompromising choreography that plunges audiences into the darkest part of our national conscience. Supported by Playing Australia Project Investment, the work will perform at a variety of venues including HOTA Home of the Arts, Monash Performing Arts Centre and Dubbo Regional Theatre and Convention Centre, with more to be announced shortly.

The company finishes the year with the world premiere of Two Blood, a collaboration with celebrated performance company Kurinji. Created by Daniel Riley, Jasmin Sheppard and S.Shakthidharan, this new cross-disciplinary work combines music, movement and projection to create a complex portrait of belonging that unearths hidden parts of our history.

“Jasmin and Shakthi are two of Australia’s most celebrated and most in-demand artists,” says Riley, “and it’s a real honour to bring Two Blood to the stage. This is a work that really pushes the boundaries of our repertoire and sees us embrace new ways of storytelling in collaboration with some extraordinary creatives. I can’t wait to share Two Blood with audiences on Kaurna Yerta.”

The company is also planning a suite of events and activations throughout the year that will throw open the doors of The Odeon to the public, engaging them in a series of events that will celebrate the company’s history and bold collective future.

“It’s going to be a momentous year,” says Daniel Riley, “Come celebrate with us!”

More events celebrating the company’s 60th anniversary will be announced throughout the year. Visit adt.org.au to learn more.

Photo of ADT Company Artist Zoe Wozniak by Emmaline Zanelli. Styled by Ava Viscariello.