Elizabeth Cameron Dalman


Dr. Elizabeth Cameron Dalman OAM is an Australian choreographer, teacher, and performer. She founded Australian Dance Theatre and was its Artistic Director from 1965 to 1975.

Early life and education

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman began her dance training with Nora Stewart, with whom she studied both classical ballet and the Margaret Morris modern dance technique.
In 1957 Elizabeth travelled to Europe, London, and later New York to continue her studies. In New York, she studied with Martha Graham, Murray Louis, James Truitte, and Alwin Nikolais. While studying in Germany in 1958, she met American choreographer Eleo Pomare and the two remained friends until his death in August 2008.
In 1994 she obtained Masters of Creative Arts degree from Wollongong University.
In 2012 Elizabeth was conferred a doctorate in dance from the University of Western Sydney for her thesis entitled The Quest for an Australian Dance Theatre.

Career in dance

Returning to New York in 1962, she danced with the Eleo Pomare Modern Dance Company for two years. Back in Adelaide in 1965, she formed the Australian Dance Theatre and for ten years was artistic director.
In 1999, she founded WEEREEWA – A Festival of Lake George, which is held in Bungendore New South Wales bi-annually since 1999. The festival showcases local artists including dancers, painters, sculptors and photographers.
She is currently Director of the at Lake George, in New South Wales near Canberra. She is also a Mentor and Board Member of The Australian Choreographic Centre in Canberra and she studies indigenous dance forms.
Elizabeth continues to direct, choreograph, perform and teach, both in Australia and overseas.

Awards

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman is a recipient of an Australian Artists Creative Fellowship; was awarded an OAM in 1995 for her contribution to contemporary dance in Australia; in 1997, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Dance Awards for achievement in dance, and in 2015 was inducted into the Australian Dance Awards Hall of Fame.
In 2020 Anthea da Silva's painting Elizabeth won the inaugural Darling Portrait Prize.