Dance in Australia

Dance in Australia includes a very broad variety of styles, from Indigenous Australian to the traditional Australian bush dance and from classical ballet, and ballroom dancing to contemporary dance and multicultural dance traditions from the 200 national backgrounds represented in Australia.

Indigenous Australian dance

Traditional Indigenous Australian dance was closely associated with song and was understood and experienced as making present the reality of the Dream time. In some instances, they would imitate the actions of a particular animal in the process of telling a story. For the people in their own country it defined to roles, responsibilities and the place itself. These ritual performances gave them an understanding of themselves in the interplay of social, geographical and environmental forces. The performances were associated with specific places and dance grounds were often sacred places. The Body decoration and specific gestures related to kin and other relationships (such as to Dream time beings with which individuals and groups). For a number of Indigenous Australian groups their dances were secret and or sacred. Gender could also be an important factor in some ceremonies with men and women having separate ceremonial traditions.