The group has its origins in "Careers in Dance", a full-time
dance training course established in 1975 for Aboriginal and Islander students by the
Aboriginal Arts Board The group of student dancers established in 1976 grew to include teachers as well as advanced and graduate students of the NAISDA (
National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association) Dance College, and in 1988 became a professional performing group. In 1977 AIDT embarked on its first international tour, with Wayne Nicol,
Michael Leslie, Richard Talonga,
Lillian Crombie and Roslyn Watson (as guest artist) performing at the Second African and Black World Festival of Arts and Culture (
FESTAC 77) in
Nigeria. After undergoing its transformation into a large professional dance troupe in 1988, AIDT performed in Finland and Germany, and later toured throughout Australia, as well as in Asia, Europe and the Americas. In 1989 Johnson resigned, believing at that time that the school and the company were too closely connected, and their aims sometimes conflicted. There were multiple government grants from various sources, demanding different criteria and creating a large administrative burden. John Alderman was appointed to the role of leading the company in 1987, but the Aboriginal Arts Board soon afterwards directed that senior roles needed to be occupied by Aboriginal people, or it would withdraw its funding. ==People==