Garry Stewart

Garry Stewart (born 1962) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned for his unusual, post-modern interpretations of classical ballets.

Early life and education Garry Stewart was born in 1962. at the Sydney City Ballet Academy (1983), and then at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne (1984–1985

On 29 November 1999, Stewart became artistic director of the ADT, In 2000, he choreographed his first major work for ADT: Birdbrain, described as "an ironic, post-modern deconstruction" of the classical ballet Swan Lake,

The Age of Unbeauty, a piece that incorporated martial arts and gymnastics within the dance performance, had its premiere in February 2002 at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Stewart said that his inspiration came from the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre, after the ADT had arrived in New York City just a few weeks after the destruction. The Age dance critic and awards panel judge Hilary Crampton said that Stewart "challenges accepted perceptions of dance performance and also of what is conceived of as a dancer or a dancer's body, so he's pushing the edge".

In 2019, to celebrate his 20 years at ADT, the company produced Anthology, a piece comprising parts of six of Stewart's most successful productions.

His tenure at ADT ended at the end of 2021, when he handed over the reins to Daniel Riley, making him the longest-serving artistic director of the company, at 22 years.

Stewart was also commissioned by the Australian Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Sydney Dance Company, Rambert Dance Company (UK),

He has sat on the jury for both the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in Geneva and the International Choreographic Competition Hannover.

Recognition and awards Stewart's works have been studied in schools and universities. 2001: Centenary Medal, for service to Australian society and dance 2002: For The Age of Unbeauty, Winner, Outstanding Choreographic Achievement, and Outstanding Work by a Company, Australian Dance Awards; Best Choreography, Helpmann Awards

Other fellowships and awards include: A two-year Australia Council Fellowship to study dance and new technologies in New York City Other Australian Dance and Green Room Awards Sydney Dance Company – Thwack!, and others (1996) THWACK (1999), Stewart's own company Plastic Space Melbourne Festival (October 1999) House Dance, broadcast on the outside of the main sail of the Sydney Opera House on New Year's Eve 1999 Birdbrain (2000–) The Age of Unbeauty (2002–) at the 2004 Adelaide Festival Devolution G, 2008 Adelaide Festival, followed by an extensive tour of Europe in 2008 and 2009; Proximity, 2012 Adelaide Festival, Melbourne 2013, European tour 2014 Objekt (October 2016), with tanzmainz, the contemporary dance company of Staatstheater Mainz The Beginning of Nature (March 2016), with the Zephyr Quartet, performed at Womadelaide Honour Bound, based on the experiences of Terry and David Hicks, directed by Nigel Jamieson, commissioned by and performed at the Sydney Opera House (28 July – 3 September 2006) and Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne (September 2006). Toured to The Vienna Festival (May 2007), Holland Festival, Amsterdam (June 2007), Barbican Theatre, London (November 2007) Rambert Dance Company – Infinity (2007) Birmingham Royal Ballet – The Centre and its Opposite (2009) Anthology (2019) It earned several awards: Dance Film Award, Australian Dance Awards, November 2005 Winner, Best Dance Film at the ReelDance Awards for Australia and New Zealand, May 2006

In 2015 Stewart was commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival to create Mood Machine, a short film focusing on the gestures of human emotions. starring Cate Blanchett, Yvonne Strahovski and Dominic West

Footnotes