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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Dancer

Touring exhibition

Currently touring: Frankston Arts Centre
Friday 7th February until Saturday 26th April 2025

Meryl Tankard
Steven Heathcote
1 Meryl Tankard, 2005 Ingvar Kenne. © Ingvar Kenne. 2 Steven Heathcote, 2007 Julian Kingma. © Julian Kingma.

From letting loose in the lounge room to enthralling audiences on stage, this exhibition captures the experience of lives lived through dance. Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection and incorporating the work of contemporary photographers, Dancer reflects the freedom and joy of dance and its power to connect.

The exhibition features 52 works including works from the National Portrait Gallery’s collection of dance legends Irina Baronova, Robert Helpmann, Hélène Kirsova, Graeme Murphy, Gideon Obarzanek, Anna Pavlova, Marilyn Rowe and Janet Vernon.

This exhibition is supported but the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians.

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Access information

This program is wheelchair accessible.

4 portraits
view all

Ningali Lawford-Wolf
Marilyn Rowe
Telphia
Tamara Tchinarova
1 Ningali Lawford-Wolf, 1996 (printed 2016) Stuart Spence. © Stuart Spence, Currently on display. 2 Marilyn Rowe, c. 1975 (printed 2017) Robert McFarlane. © Robert McFarlane/Copyright Agency, 2024. 3 Telphia, 1990 (printed 2013) Michael Riley. © Michael Riley/Copyright Agency, 2024, Currently on display. 4 Tamara Tchinarova, 1938 Max Dupain OBE.
Dancer tour dates
Frankston Arts Centre

Friday 7th February until Saturday 26th April 2025

David Roche Foundation Museum

Friday 6th June until Sunday 17th August 2025

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency