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Ausdance ACT Honorary Life Members

Ausdance ACT Honorary Life Members are: Ethel Williams (deceased), Rita Sheehan, Priscilla Ruffell, Jennifer Kingma, Julie Dyson AM, Jane Pamenter (Haigh), Hilary Trotter, Sandra Macarthur-Onslow, Irene Lind and Jan Carey.

Hilary Trotter

Honorary Life Membership of The Australian Dance Council—Ausdance ACT is awarded to Hilary Trotter, in recognition of her services to dance, and to Ausdance, in the Australian Capital Territory.

Inspired after attending the inaugural AADE Conference in Melbourne in August 1977, Hilary and her colleagues set up an ACT branch of the Australian Association for Dance Education in November that year. She was then dance critic for The Canberra Times, a writer and a staff member of the Australian Archives. She was immediately elected the AADE representative for the ACT on the National Committee, and in that role was instrumental in developing the organisation’s constitution, and the ACT newsletter, Dance Action, whichfirst appeared in February 1978. Hilary was also involved in the redevelopment of Gorman House, insisting on sprung floors throughout the complex, and lowered floors in the Choreographic Centre to accommodate dance.

Hilary's work was visionary in the ACT:  with the support of the ACT Arts Council, she developed a dance development strategy that would change the face of professional dance in Canberra, convincing the Australia Council to fund aspects of the program. This included bringing small Sydney companies Kinetic Energy and One Extra to perform and give workshops, and promoting Don Asker as the first choreographer to receive an ANU Creative Arts Fellowship. Human Veins Dance Company grew out of this Fellowship, resulting in the ACT’s first professional dance company.

The plan also included the first Summer School in 1979 and lecture/demonstrations by The Australian Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company to raise funds for the AADE. Hilary organised a small seminar in 1979—Learning to Dance and Dancing to Learn—which attracted national artists such as Anne Woolliams, Shirley McKechnie and Dame Peggy van Praagh, and this was followed by two Dance in the Community national conferences in 1981 and 1982. An annual Sunday in the Park dance program also featured largely in the AADE’s dance landscape. Later achievements (as joint National Co-ordinator) included the development of the first dance database in Australia, and publication of the Safe Dance Research (and the invention of that term).

Following her retirement in 1991, Hilary continued to contribute to Ausdance through her desktop publishing skills, designing Dance Forum for its first eight years.

Irene Lind

Honorary Life Membership of The Australian Dance Council—Ausdance ACT is awarded to Irene Lind, in recognition of her services to dance, and to Ausdance, in the Australian Capital Territory.

Irene attended the inaugural ACT meeting of the Australian Association for Dance Education in November 1977, and was immediately elected to the first Committee. As a primary school teacher, Irene brought special knowledge to the organisation, and was very active in promoting dance education in the ACT school system.

Irene became President of AADE ACT in 1986, and in that position she provided important leadership for the growth of the High Schools and Colleges Dance Festival, being strongly supportive of the non-competitive nature of the event. Irene also helped to design AADE ACT’s program of teacher professional development through engagement of artists to work with teachers, and was herself a keen participant in all the workshops.

Irene was instrumental in gaining funding for AADE ACT through lobbying and submission writing, and in making a strong case for the organisation and its vision for the future. The ACT Arts Development Board granted funding to AADE ACT in 1986, and Irene oversaw the employment of the first paid Dance Development Officer of organisation in 1987, with whom she worked to develop sponsorship and media support for AADE.

As an ACT school principal, Irene continues to promote dance in her own school through the employment of professional dance teachers who work with both students and teachers.

Jan Carey

Honorary Life Membership of The Australian Dance Council—Ausdance ACT is awarded to Jan Carey, in recognition of her services to dance, and to Ausdance, in the Australian Capital Territory.

Jan was a founding member of the Australian Association for Dance Education, and had been a prominent dancer, teacher and choreographer in Canberra for many years when she was approached by AADE ACT to produce the first High Schools and Colleges Dance Festival in 1985, just three weeks before of the event.

This was the International Year of Youth, and students from 20 schools had taken up the opportunity perform in a professional venue in a non-competitive dance festival. Jan devised a program of school visits, advising teachers and students about performing at the Canberra Theatre for the first time, organising their soundtracks, suggesting lighting and advising them on choreographic ideas. The first Festival, on 19 August 1985, showcased 41 items from 20 Canberra high schools and colleges. Over 200 students participated in the inaugural event at the Canberra Theatre.

Jan went on to successfully produce the next three Festivals, and introduced a theme in 1986 (the International Year of Peace) to assist in providing focus for the students’ creativity. The innovative ideas and processes introduced by Jan in the early Festivals are those still followed by today’s producers.

Jan continues to contribute to dance in Canberra, most recently as Chair of the Australian Choreographic Centre.

Jane Pamenter (Haigh)

Honorary Life Membership of The Australian Dance Council—Ausdance ACT is awarded to Jane Pamenter (Haigh), in recognition of her services to dance and to Ausdance in the Australian Capital Territory.

Jane arrived in Canberra in 1982 as a recent graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Dance, to take up the position of dance teacher at St Clare’s College. She immediately joined the Committee of AADE ACT, and became one of its longest-serving members.

Jane guided the organisation through the incorporation of Ausdance ACT in 1986 and became Public Officer. She worked as a volunteer on the Committee in other capacities, including chair of the Education sub-committee, as an activist in the schools on behalf of the early High Schools and Colleges Dance Festivals, and as an organiser of the annual Summer Schools. She also wrote for Dance Action, promoted dance throughout the school systems through chairing the Tertiary Dance Accreditation panel, and helped to plan and run dance education workshops and inservice courses.

Jane’s energy and commitment to Ausdance ACT were especially valuable in the days when the work of the organisation was entirely voluntary. She was a member of the board of Vis-à-vis Dance Canberra and continues to work for dance through membership of the board of the Australian Choreographic Centre.

Sandra Macarthur-Onslow

Honorary Life Membership of The Australian Dance Council – Ausdance ACT is awarded to Sandra Macarthur-Onslow, in recognition of her services to Ausdance in the Australian Capital Territory.

Sandra provided invaluable advice and support to Ausdance ACT throughout her time as Acting Director in 2002, a time when the organisation was at a crossroad.

While working with Ausdance National prior to her service with Ausdance ACT, Sandra had established new financial and reporting mechanisms for Ausdance across the country.

Sandra brought her previous Ausdance experience to assist the ACT board with a review process, and developed financial management systems that provided much-needed stability to the organisation. She worked with local stakeholders and assisted in the appointment of a permanent Director to the position.

During this particularly challenging year, Sandra also oversaw the production of Dance Week and the Dance Fest, enabling the organisation to go forward with accountability and confidence.