Who we are
We give respect to the traditional owners past, present and future and look to their spirits to guide us and help us achieve our aspirations with passion, commitment and creativity.
NAISDA Dance College is Australia’s premier Indigenous training college with a proud tradition of producing our country’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers, choreographers, independent artists and creative and cultural innovators and pioneers since 1976.
NAISDA has a national footprint and is the only arts training organisation in Australia to deliver nationally accredited performing arts courses specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged between 16 and 26. These include the Certificate III, Certificate IV and Diploma in Dance Performance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
The new NAISDA Advanced Diploma was brought onto the NAISDA curriculum in February 2021. It is designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists entering their final year of study before progressing to a professional dance career or for artists already practising wishing to upskill their professional practice. The course is a combination of core and electives units, tailored in consultation with NAISDA Course Coordinators to increase skills according to chosen areas.
The NAISDA campus is on Darkinjung Land at Kariong on the New South Wales Central Coast. Connection to, and celebration of our cultural identities and practice is at the heart of everything we do.
Whist training at NAISDA, students studying Certificate III to Diploma qualifications are referred to as Developing Artists with students studying Advanced Diploma known as Practising Artists
For further information about NAISDA click here.
Supportive Learning Environment
NAISDA support services are underpinned by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and wellbeing. During your studies, we offer:
- Developing Artist Support Team to assist, guide and mentor Developing Artists
- Culturally safe onsite campus accommodation or a Homestay Program accommodation for under 18 Developing Artists
- Physical and emotional wellbeing support
- Injury/rehabilitation support
- Language, literacy and numeracy support
- Accessibility to external counselling
NAISDA Study Guide
The NAISDA Study Guide is a complete guide to training, support and life at NAISDA Dance College. Click here to view it.