The Australian Women's Register

German-born Tanja Liedtke took her first dance and theatre studies at the age of 8 in Spain. Her dance training continued at Elmhurst Ballet School, Surrey, and Ballet Rambert School London, from which she graduated in 1995.

Tanja moved to Sydney in 1996 and studied under ballet teacher Tanya Pearson. A fellowship took her to Canberra’s Australian Choreographic Centre in 1998 and the following year she joined the Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) in Adelaide. She worked with the ADT until 2003, touring across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America.

In 2003 Tanja joined Lloyd Newson’s London-based DV8 company and performed in the internationally acclaimed production The Cost of Living, which eventually became a Channel 4 film.

In addition to her career as a dancer, Tanja was commissioned to create works for other countries, including Brazil, Germany and Scotland. Her first full-length work Twelfth Floor won the 2006 Australian Dance Award for outstanding choreography.

Another of her productions, Construct, was premiered at London’s Southbank Centre in May 2007, followed by an Australian premier in 2008. Tanja was honoured with the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best New Choreography in 2008 for her work on this production.

Tanja was appointed artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company in May 2007 however, before she could take up the position, Tanja was tragically killed in a road accident in August 2007.

In 2017, to commemorate ten years since Tanja Liedtke’s passing, the Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) staged a second season of Construct.