The theatre of war: how the Anzac story has been retold through dance for 80 years

By Yvette Grant, PhD Candidate in Dance and Dance History Tutor, The University of Melbourne
Christine de Matos, Adjunct Researcher, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Notre Dame Australia

The story of the Anzacs has been represented through art from the beginning.

The film Hero of the Dardanelles (1915) recreates the landing at Gallipoli. Official war artists were commissioned to document the conflict. One of the most powerful paintings was the ghostly Midnight at Menin Gate (1927) by Will Longstaff.

Banjo Paterson penned an ode to Gallipoli, We’re All Australians Now, in 1915, and novels abound exploring the impacts of war on soldiers and society.

What about dance? As in film, the human body can convey events past. Like fiction, it can present…

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