NAISDA Dance College
Chief Executive Officer
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller (Kukuyalanji and Waanyi) is the founder of BlakDance, co-founder of Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT), and the co-director of Preparing Ground alongside Jasmin Sheppard and Katina Olsen. Marilyn has also been the Festival Director for the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival as well as Program Manager and Artistic Associate for Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF). Marilyn founded BlakDance in 2005, is a current member of its Cultural Council and facilitated three Indigenous Dance Forums for the organisation, including the National Indigenous Dance Forum in Melbourne in 2017 and BlakFutures in Adelaide in 2023, along with numerous other facilitations in other sectors.
Dr Vicki Van Hout
Dr Vicki Van Hout is a Wiradjuri choreographer, performer, writer, teacher and researcher with more than three decades of practice and a doctorate in dance. A graduate of NAISDA and the Martha Graham School in New York, she has performed with Bangarra Dance Theatre and Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre before pursuing a career as an independent artist. Her research explores Contemporary Indigenous Dance Technique, bringing cultural knowledge, embodied histories and contemporary practice into dialogue. Her choreography and research inform one another. Her works include Wiradjouni, Briwyant, Long Grass and plenty serious TALK TALK. Recipient of the 2019 Australia Council Award for Dance and a 2023 Creative Australia Dance Fellowship, she is developing Bitch Troll, the first in a triptych exploring power and subjugation through the written word and the body.
Photo: Jody Haines.
Jasmin Sheppard
Jacob Boehme
Jacob Boehme is an award-winning Narungga and Kaurna theatre maker, choreographer and artistic director. His works include Guuranda, commissioned by Adelaide Festival (2024), and Logan St, commissioned by State Theatre Company SA (2026). Through GUURANDA X, Jacob is pioneering First Nations-led eco-touring and cultural exchange models, piloted in India and Scotland. Recipient of the 2023 Ruby Award for Wild Dog, Jacob was founding Creative Director of Yirramboi Festival. He is an alumnus of Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and NAISDA Dance College, and is a PhD candidate at Flinders University.
Photo: Claudio Raschella.
