Senator the Hon. George Brandis S.C.

Minister for the Arts and Sport

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance training in Australia will receive a boost with up to $7 million from the Australian Government for the refurbishment of the NAISDA Dance College, the Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis, announced today.

‘Since opening in 1975, the college has provided traditional and contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance training to many hundreds of young Indigenous people,' Senator Brandis said.

‘Promising dance practitioners develop the skills for employment in the dance and arts industries.'

In September 2006, after 10 years at The Rocks in Sydney, NAISDA relocated to interim accommodation at Mt Penang Parklands in Gosford on the central coast of NSW.

Senator Brandis said the Government's additional funding for NAISDA will support development of dance training, academic and performance facilities and residential accommodation at Mt Penang and will include:

• $5 million to refurbish the Mt Penang facilities; and
• $0.3 million per annum to meet increased operational costs in the new premises.

‘This new funding will ensure that NAISDA continues to deliver a high standard of dance training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students,' Senator Brandis said.

‘In 2007 it has drawn students from all over Australia, from remote places to major urban centres, including the Tiwi Islands and Tennant Creek (NT), Meningie and Loxton (SA), Morley (WA), Swan Hill (Vic) and Kirwan (Qld).'

Six of the twelve professional dancers currently with the world-renowned Bangarra Dance Theatre studied at the NAISDA Dance College.

Media contact: Travis Bell 0448 950 248

05/07
Thursday, 8 February 2007