Meryl Tankard AO

Meryl Tankard is an Australian dancer, choreographer, artistic director, and filmmaker who shaped contemporary dance in Australia and internationally. Born in Darwin in 1955, she trained in Melbourne, Penang, and Sydney before joining the Australian Ballet in 1975. From 1978 to 1984, she danced with Pina Bausch's Wuppertal company, an experience that profoundly influenced her artistic voice.

Tankard led her own Canberra company from 1989 and served as artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre from 1993 to 1999. During her tenure at ADT, she created a distinctive repertory that toured internationally across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States. Works including *Furioso*, *Aurora*, *O let Me Weep*, *Seulle*, *Rasa*, *Inuk*, and *Possessed* established her signature approach to movement and visual storytelling.

Her practice is defined by the integration of bodies with projected imagery, objects, and architectural space. She designed her own costumes and sets, and developed aerial choreography that became central to works like *Furioso*. In 2003, she created the full-length *Wild Swans* for the Australian Ballet, with composer Elena Kats-Chernin. That same year, Tankard conceived, directed, and choreographed *Deep Sea Dreaming* for the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, bringing her work to a global audience.

Beyond the stage, Tankard has worked extensively in film and television. Works including *Wild Swans* and *The Deep End* were screened on ABC-TV. She later moved into documentary filmmaking, creating the award-winning *Michelle's Story* in 2015.