Canberra Dance Theatre

Leading community dance since 1978, Canberra Dance Theatre is where the professional joins with the community for classes and performance.

Canberra Dance Theatre (CDT) has a history of connecting professional dance art with a community dance. It grew out of the National University Dance Ensemble (NUDE), established by Graham Farquhar in 1972, which in 1977 was under the leadership of Diana Shohet, Lorna Marshall and Graham Farquhar.

In 1978 a new organization was created, Canberra Dance Ensemble, with Stephanie Burridge joining the artistic team. With the departure of Diana and Lorna later that year, Stephanie took on the leadership role, being named the first Artistic Director. CDE was incorporated in 1981, and in 1989 the name was changed to Canberra Dance Theatre to serve a wider and more theatrical vision.

Since the beginning, CDT has brought together significant Australian dancers, choreographers, musicians and designers, including Dr Stephanie Burridge, Dr Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM, Kai Tai Chan, Julia Cotton, Patrick Harding-Irmer, Anca Frankenhauser, Beth Shelton, Anna Smith, Dr Cheryl Stock OAM, Andris Toppe, Wendy Wallace, Bernadette Walong, Graeme Watson, Tammi Gissell, Sue Healey and Amalia Horden.