Photo: Lorna Sim
Recently retired as Artistic Director of QL2 Dance, Ruth Osborne is known for pioneering youth dance practice in Australia: performing, teaching, choreographing, directing and collaborating.
In WA she established the Contemporary Dance Centre, taught at WAAPA and was founding AD 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 Critic’s 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.