The awards have their origin in the informal community Dancers' Picnic founded by Keith Bain first held in 1986 on or close to International Dance Day.
For three years from 2008, the Awards were held in Melbourne and produced by Ausdance Victoria with support from the Joan and Peter Clemenger Trust and The Australian Ballet.
Presented by Ausdance National and Harlequin Floors, the 2016 Australian Dance Awards were held at The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, Perth, on Sunday 18 September at 6.30 pm as part of the MoveMe Festival 2016.
The 2015 Australian Dance Awards were presented by Ausdance National at Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide on Saturday 12 September 2015.
The winners were:[19] Hosted by Chloe Dallimore, the star of the Australian production of the musical The Producers and Eddie Perfect.
Graeme Murphy Grand Paul Zivkovich Held Australian Dance Theatre Choreography & Performance: Narelle Benjamin Hosted by Libbi Gorr.
The winners were:[21] Sydney Dance Company Produced by ScreenSound Australia[22] A documentary charting the work of choreographer Edouard Borovansky and the foundation of the Boronovsky Ballet Shimmer Choreography & Performance: Narelle Benjamin and Solon Ulbrich Valrene Tweedie[23] OAM Monica Halliday OAM Stephen Baynes Djakapurra Munyarryun Laurel Martyn OBE Ann Roberts Gideon Obarzanek Artistic Director of Chunky Move Dally Messenger Founder of Dance Australia