Daniel Riley | Flexibility

The QUT Alumni Team sat down with Daniel to chat about his career, inspiration and the impact of listening and acknowledging a deeply uncomfortable history.

How did your journey in dance begin?

My journey in contemporary dance began in 1999, in a chance encounter between my father and a woman named Elizabeth Cameron Dalman. She knew I was interested in dance, so she pointed me in the direction of a youth dance company called QL2 Dance (formerly Quantum Leap) on Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country (Canberra). Little did I know that Elizabeth was the founding Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre (ADT), the very company I now lead.

What were your key learnings from your Associate Degree in Dance?

The daily training in the studio was key as it formed a greater understanding of my body, and how to best utilise its form and function creatively. I built an awareness of the industry and of my possible place in it.

What are some of your career highlights?

Most recently, obviously, would be my appointment as the inaugural First Nations Artistic Director of Australia's oldest continuous contemporary dance company, ADT. It's an absolute privilege and honour to hold this position and be able to lead an organisation with a consistent First Nations viewpoint and through each major work and collaboration we create and present. I'm also proud of the 12-year contribution as a senior artist, choreographer and leader within the Bangarra Dance Theatre, where I worked directly following my graduation from QUT.

Can you tell us where do you see dance and representation going in the next 5-10 years?

I'm looking forward to seeing more First Nations stories told on our stages across the country, and these stories being led by First Nations artists. It's time for non-First Nations artists and artistic leaders to step to the side to allow these stories to be told by the very communities they represent. Artistically I think it is also time we begin to redefine what it means to be an Australian dance maker now. How are we redefining our practice and the work we present to be iconically Australia and begin to shed the expectations of European culture and expectations.

It's two years into the role and you have created some powerful, deeply personal work. Tracker has just finished its run, and was inspired by your great-great-uncle's life. How have audiences received these stories?

Presenting Tracker at the five major festivals this year has been extraordinary. To be able to bring my Great Great Uncle, Alec Riley's, story to audiences across the country, made in collaboration with ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and an all First Nations cast and creative team has been a dream. I've worked with Elders and story holders from my Wiradjuri community to ensure the story is correct and told the right way, and seeing their reaction to the work, and the pride they show in Uncle Alec is very special.

Audiences have embraced the story and storytelling of the work. They are affected by the story as it not only speaks to a moment in our colonial and policing history, but it also speaks to our ongoing struggles as First Peoples. It's an incredible feeling to sit in the audience after the show and hear their reactions and witness them be moved by the story.

Other than being prepared to listen and acknowledge what can people do in their daily lives to move towards a more just, equitable and reconciled country?

Big question! I think it is about seeing and hearing from both sides. Be prepared to sit in uncomfortableness and know when to step aside to ensure First Peoples can self-determine their own future. Listen to learn. But also listen to show respect.

Australian Dance Theatre offers a young artist program for motivated dancers aged between 15-25 years and your November show, Cultivate:One will also feature emerging talent. What does mentoring mean to you?

It's important to me, as a product of youth dance, that I make sure we are supporting emerging talent and the aspirations of young dancers. Our Tread program provides space for 1525-year-old dancers to form community and begin their learning in our chosen art form of dance. And our Cultivate program provides opportunity for artistic growth for our full time Company Artists to explore their own choreographic voice and get to present that work to our audiences in Kaurna Yerta, Adelaide.

Mentoring is an important part of this role and one I don't take lightly. I acknowledge the mentorship I have received throughout my career, so I know the importance of it and the power of it to change and influence career paths. I thoroughly mentoring the next generation and providing space and knowledge, if and when appropriate.

You wear many hats as an Artistic Director, choreographer and father of two. How do you balance your home and work life?

It's not easy! The job is intense and my days are full. I have an incredibly supportive wife, who understands the demands, and being in a supportive industry like the arts, my children are always in the studio and around the building. Sometimes the balance is there, then it can shift very quickly. I'm learning to be adaptive and malleable with my time and commitments.

Can you name some Indigenous artists who you think are doing great work or inspire you?

Worimi visual artist (*and QUT Alumni) Dean Cross, Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi visual artist Jonathan Jones, Yawuru dance maker and Artistic Director of Marrageku Dalisa Pigram and Wesley Enoch*.

What is one skill you couldn't live without and why?

Flexibility. Not physically! That is long gone, but flexible with my time and understanding that plans can change very quickly in the studio and in the arts. I'm getting better at trusting my instinct and knowing where my attention needs to be.

Do you have a question for Daniel? Follow him and the Australian Dance Theatre via their Instagram account.

Image: Daniel Riley performing in Australian Dance Theatre’s SAVAGE (2022). Photo by Sam Roberts Photography