A descendant of the Djabugay people of Far North Queensland, Deon Hastie is Head of Dance at NAISDA Dance College. Deon is a former student of NAISDA, graduating in 1998 from the national performing arts training organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
From 2000 – 2010, Deon was a major artist with the renowned contemporary dance company Leigh Warren Dancers, performing in 18 major works with the company and, contributing to their choreographic process, and touring nationally and internationally.
Passionate about educating and guiding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, Deon was appointed Artistic Director of Adelaide’s Kurruru Youth Performing Arts in late 2010. During his time at Kurruru he developed and delivered their considerable artistic programs, created original works which toured nationally, and raised cultural awareness through dance practice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
In 2023, Deon collaborated with NAISDA’s developing artists and choreographers to bring their major production for the year titled ATI – Journey to life. Due to COVID, this production was the first that NAISDA had presented at Carriageworks in over 3 years. In creating and sharing ATI, Deon had continued a legacy of truth-telling by following in the footsteps of amazing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander storytellers and dance practitioners that’d come before him. He aims to also empower the next generation of dancers, choreographers, and directors to share their own stories and truth through dance.