Originating in the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (predecessor to NAISDA), it was based in Sydney, New South Wales, and operated from 1976 to 1998.
She set up classes in St James Church Hall in the Sydney suburb of Glebe, where the training included traditional as well as contemporary styles of dance.
[1] 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[3]) 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.
He is especially remembered for his participation in the 1988 Sydney Mardi Gras, in which, in collaboration with artist Panos Couros, he enacted the story of the First Fleet, with himself as Captain Cook – the first ever Aboriginal float entry in the parade.