A proud history – Canberra Dance Theatre

Canberra Dance Theatre (CDT) has a history of connecting professional dance art with community dance.

CDT grew out of the National University Dance Ensemble (NUDE), established by Graham Farquhar in 1970, which in 1977 was under the leadership of Diana Shohet, Lorna Marshall and Graham Farquhar.

Our Patrons

Professor Graham Farquhar AO FAA FRS NAS

Professor Farquhar is one of the founders of Canberra Dance Theatre. While taking his first science degree at the Australian National University he also studied dance with the Bryan Lawrence School of Ballet in Canberra. He continued to dance and in 1970 founded National University Dance Ensemble while pursuing a distinguished career researching plant physiology.

In 1978, he co-founded Canberra Dance Ensemble with Lorna Marshall, and Diane Shohet, being joined on their departure by Stephanie Burridge as the first Artistic Director.

Professor Farquhar is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Royal Society and a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences. He has over 300 research publications and is a leading Australian Citation Laureate. Graham was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science in 2015, the Kyoto Prize in 2017, and was named Senior Australian of the Year for 2018.

Ruth Osborne OAM

Former Artistic Director of QL2 Dance, Ruth is known for pioneering youth dance practice in Australia: performing, teaching, choreographing, directing and collaborating.

At the age of eight Ruth’s dance journey began at the Bodenwieser Dance Centre in Sydney, igniting a lifelong passion and desire to contribute to the contemporary dance world. In WA she established the Contemporary Dance Centre, taught at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and was founding Artistic Director of Steps Youth Dance Company.

In Canberra Ruth has developed unique programs at the Australian Choreographic Centre, and as Artistic Director of QL2 Dance. She established Quantum Leap youth dance ensemble, developing choreographic literacy in young dancers, and has presented youth dance in Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Jamaica, and Scotland. At the 2011 Australian Dance Awards, she won the Award for Services to Dance “For her superlative teaching and wide-ranging services to dance for over four decades.”

Ruth directed the Australian Dance Awards in 2012 (Perth) and 2013 (Canberra). She has won several ACT Critics Circle awards, and in 2017 was awarded a Churchill Fellowship. In 2024 Ruth was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to the performing arts, particularly dance.