Elizabeth Cameron Dalman

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM (born 1934) is an Australian choreographer, teacher, and performer. She founded Australian Dance Theatre and was its artistic director from 1965 to 1975. She is also the founding director of Mirramu Dance Company.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman was born in 1934[1] in Adelaide, South Australia. Her father was a politician in the Menzies government and her mother was an art lover. Dalman began dancing when she was three years old and studied dance during her school years.[2]

She trained with Nora Stewart, with whom she studied both classical ballet, and also with Margaret Morris modern dance technique.

In 1957[3] Elizabeth travelled to London, where watching a single performance "changed her life". The performance was modern dance by Jose Limon's company.[2]

She later travelled to New York to continue her studies. In New York, she studied with Martha Graham, Murray Louis, James Truitte, and Alwin Nikolais. While studying in Germany in 1958, she met American choreographer Eleo Pomare and the two remained friends until his death in August 2008.[3] She lived in Amsterdam with Pomare and other dancers, was particularly influenced by Pomare's style of dance, and wanted to dance in the same style.[2]

In 1994 she obtained Masters of Creative Arts degree from Wollongong University.

In 2012 Elizabeth was conferred a doctorate in dance (PhD) from the University of Western Sydney for her thesis entitled The Quest for an Australian Dance Theatre.

Career in dance

Returning to New York in 1962, she danced with the Eleo Pomare Dance Company for two years. Back in Adelaide in 1965, she formed the Australian Dance Theatre and for ten years was artistic director.[4]

In 1999, she founded "Weereewa – A Festival of Lake George", which was held in Bungendore, New South Wales. The festival showcased visual and performance artists and writers, and continued more or less biennially until at least 2014.[5]

Mirramu
Main article: Mirramu Dance Company

In 2002 she co-founded (with Vivienne Rogis[6]) and was and is inaugural director of the Mirramu Creative Arts Centre at Lake George, in New South Wales near Canberra.[7][8][9]

Mirramu performed at the March 2008 Weereewa - A Festival of Lake George event,[10] and again in 2014, along with dancers from Malaysia and Taiwan.[5]

Other roles and activities

Dalman was a mentor and board member of the Australian Choreographic Centre in Canberra, and she has studied Indigenous dance forms.[11]

She has taught in Australian universities, and travelled as a performer, choreographer, teacher and researcher, including to Taiwan, Japan and West Africa.[12]

Recognition and awards

Dalman won five Canberra Critics' Circle Awards for choreography and production between 1990 and 2015.[8]

  • 1994: Australian Artists Creative Fellowship,[12] for five years[8]
  • 2004: artsACT Creative Artist Fellowship, Canberra[8]
  • 2015: inducted into the Australian Dance Awards Hall of Fame[16]

References
  1. "Dalman, Elizabeth Cameron (1934-)", Trove, 2009
  2. Pianegonda, Elise (26 August 2016). "World-renowned choreographer Elizabeth Cameron Dalman sets off on next big adventure". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. Fensham, Rachel (April 2013). ""Breakin' the Rules": Eleo Pomare and the Transcultural Choreographies of Black Modernity". Dance Research Journal. 45 (1): 41–63. doi:10.1017/S0149767712000253. ISSN 0149-7677.
  4. Pawlowski, Joshua (22 April 2013). "Ousted priestess of dance returns to pointe". The Australian. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  5. "Lake of Mystery celebrated in Weereewa Festival". Canberra CityNews. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  6. "Vivienne Rogis". Mirramu Creative Arts Centre and Mirramu Dance Company. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. "About". Mirramu Creative Arts Centre and Mirramu Dance Company. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. "Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM". Mirramu Creative Arts Centre and Mirramu Dance Company. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. "Review: Enlightened dance in every sense". Canberra CityNews. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. Bacon, Meredith (11 February 2008). "Audience review: Tango Lament". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. McAuley, Gay (2006). Unstable Ground: Performance and the Politics of Place. Dramaturgies Textes, Cultures. European Interuniversity Press. p. 115. ISBN 978-90-5201-036-6. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. "Elizabeth Cameron Dalman". Ausdance. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. "Ms Elizabeth CAMERON DALMAN: Medal of the Order of Australia". Australian Honours Search Facility. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. "Commonweath of Australia Gazette No. S 8" (PDF). 26 January 1995.
  15. Lifetime Achievement - 1997 - Australian Dance Awards
  16. "Hall of Fame - 2015 - Australian Dance Awards". www.australiandanceawards.net.au. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. "Darling Portrait Prize". National Portrait Gallery exhibition. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
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