Meryl Tankard

An alumna of the Australian Ballet, Meryl Tankard was a leading member of Tanztheater Wuppertal 1978 — 1984 and guest performer until 1988 creating roles in „Café Müller“, “Kontakthof”, “Walzer”, “Bandoneon”, “Arien”, “1980 – A Piece by Pina Bausch“ and „Keuschheitslegende (Legend of Chastity)“. Returning to Sydney in 1984, she created independent choreographies, including the acclaimed solo, “Two Feet”, before establishing her own company in Canberra, for which she created “Songs with Mara”, “Kikimora”, “Nuti”, “Chants de Mariage” and “VX1805”. As Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre (1993 — 1999), she created award-winning works including “Furioso”, “Aurora”, “Inuk”, “Seulle”, “Possessed” and “Rasa”, and collaborated with the Australian Opera on “Orphée et Eurydice”.

Meryl Tankard has choreographed for theatre, film, opera, the West End and Broadway, and directed large-scale public events including the opening ceremony for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. A graduate of the Australian Film and Television School, her directorial credits include “Michelle’s Story” and several short films.

Commissions include Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballett Zürich, Lyon Opera Ballet, Australian Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, and Leipzig Ballet of Opera Leipzig, and her version of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”, “The Oracle”, toured internationally.

In 2019, Meryl Tankard was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Her visually compelling and emotionally charged work leaves an indelible impression on audiences.