The emergence of Surfdancing

A snap shot of it’s development

Surfing by day, dancing by night — read the newspaper headline under Mum’s photograph on the beach, dated 1966. Sue hovered mid-leap like a ballerina above the ocean: elegant, radiant, utterly free. That single image opened a window into the life I imagined she led at nineteen — part ocean lover, part dancer, all heart.

Growing up with big-wave body-surfing at North Narrabeen, I felt perfectly at home when Mum remarried and we moved to Kiddies Corner, Palm Beach. With rocks, waves and sand as our front yard, I quickly became a little water woman. Our next-door neighbour turned out to be former World Champion Nat Young; not far away lived Midget Farrelly, the first world champion. Suddenly surf lessons from Nat, skateboard play with Beau, and evening dances with Johanna Farrelly were just part of life. Mum’s bridesmaid had been Jane Farrelly — the family ties ran deep. After years of begging to be sent to dancing classes, I finally learned the truth: Mum had trained in ballet, won scholarships to the Australian Ballet Company, and carried that grace into everything she did.

Mum soon ran the S.K. Altmann School of Dance in Avalon. I wanted a solo. I couldn’t quite dance yet, but I could ride a skateboard — so in 1984, to the tune of “Smooth Criminal,” I gave birth to what I called “skateboard dancing.” Looking back at those early eighties days — Mum’s surf-dance legacy, the influence of Morning of the Earth, and the artful surf culture I grew up in — it seems inevitable I would become a Surfdancer.

After finishing a Bachelor of Business Management, I sat under a tree in Byron Bay and wondered how to make a better world — could people follow their dreams and earn a living doing what they loved? Could we inspire children to start businesses fueled by joy and creativity? I knew two things for sure: I loved to surf, and I loved to dance. And so the journey began.

In 2004 Noosa Council granted Surfdancer a permit to teach Surfdancing, and in 2005–2006 we opened the Noosa Festival of Surfing. The early years brought ridicule and rejection — people would paddle over and say, “You can’t just dance on a wave; surfing isn’t that.” Yet that very controversy drew national and international attention. Fifteen years on, Surfdancing feels less provocative. More surfers and artists recognize the kinship between surf and dance; respected surfers now acknowledge the surf-dance connection.

Surfdancing continues to grow. It’s about freedom: the joy of expressing surfing through movement, the connection between body and wave, and the simple delight of riding with expression. From Mum’s airborne photograph in 1966 to skateboard solos in concert and turning surf into performance, our story is one of play, courage, and the belief that we are water spirit.