17th Annual Meeting
Thursday – Saturday, October 25 – 27, 2007
Special Interest Groups Day  Sunday, October 28, 2007
Canberra, Australia
at the Australian Institute of Sport

Post-conference Day:
Monday, October 29, 2007
Melbourne, Australia

Hosted by:
Australian Ballet School
Australian Dance Council - Ausdance
Australian Sports Commission

Canberra Information

Canberra, Australia’s national capital, is located on the ancient lands of the Indigenous Ngunnawal people.  Originally 'Kamberra,' Canberra’s name is thought to mean ‘meeting place.’  European settlers first came to the area in the 1830's, and it was chosen for the federal capital in 1908.  Canberra’s special contrast of nature and urban living was planned in 1912 by an American architect and master designer, Walter Burley Griffin, and fifteen years later the provisional Parliament House was opened in what was then a treeless paddock.  The city is decentralised, its small town centres separated by natural bush-land populated by kangaroos, wombats, possums, lizards, snakes and brilliantly-coloured native birds.

Canberra is home to all the national institutions, including (follow links for more information):

• Australian Institute of Sport, home to the IADMS 17th Annual Meeting
• National Gallery of Australia,
  including the Ballets Russes Costume Collection
• Australian War Memorial
• National Archives of Australia
• National Museum of Australia
• National Library of Australia,
  including the Australian Dance Collection
• National Portrait Gallery
• Old Parliament House
• Parliament House
• ScreenSound Australia,  including the Keep Dancing project
• Questacon – the National Science and Technology Centre

As Australia’s capital, Canberra is the home of diplomatic embassies and high commissions from throughout the world.  The Diplomatic Corps was first established in Canberra in 1936.  Seven years later the United States became the first country to introduce the idea of design characteristics which represent the culture of each mission's home country.  Canberra now offers a fascinating kaleidoscope of embassies in various architectural and decorative styles.

October is Spring-time in Canberra, a very pleasant period of the year with average temperatures ranging from around 8º C (46º F) overnight to bright, sunny days around 21º C (70º F).  At an elevation of 571 metres (1880 feet) above sea-level, Canberra’s clean air, blue skies, leafy streets and natural bush setting make a refreshing change for those who work in more conventional urban environments.  With a population of 320,000, Canberra is situated inland, 281 kilometres (175 miles) from Sydney and 660 kilometres (410 miles) from Melbourne.