Lesley Graham has been active in dance and dance education for over 30 years. She is employed by the Tasmanian Education Department.
Lesley holds a Masters in Dance Studies and was a dancer with Tasdance (Jenny Kinder). Teaching positions include Lecturer in Dance Education, QUT and UTas. For the past two years she has taught into the Salamanca Arts Centre Space Dance Certificate IV and Diploma of Dance Teaching and Management courses and currently lectures into the UTAS Masters of Teaching (Arts Education) and B Ed. Primary courses.
Lesley was the Education Consultant on Lagaw Gub Torres Strait Island Dance Kit (featuring the dance of Dennis Newie and St Paul, Moa Island—unpublished). Lesley has recently developed the Education Resources for Bangarra Dance Theatre in partnership with Education Services Australia and was recently engaged to write online support material for the ABC Splash project including a dance ‘digibook’.
Lesley is actively involved in community projects, assisting on the Mkono Kwa Mkono project, with Kickstart Arts and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and recently received an award for her contributions to the African Australian community.
She actively mentors artists working in schools through the AIR project and less formal partnerships. In her position of Curriculum Area Leader—The Arts at Ogilvie High, she has developed formal partnerships between the school and MADE, Kickstart Arts, Salamanca Arts Centre, Second Echo Ensemble, DRILL performance and Tasdance to allow access for these companies to professional studio spaces and for the community to professional artists.
Lesley writes for The Mercury and Dance Australia, and she has just completed a term of four years on the Ausdance Australian Dance Awards panel.