Margaret Walker

Dancer and dance activist. Margaret Evelyn Walker (née Frey) studied classical ballet at the Borovansky Ballet Academy in Melbourne in 1940 and became a founder and member of the Melbourne Ballet Club and the Borovansky Ballet Company. Walker furthered her interest in dance and theatre and in 1952 she founded the Association of Australian Dancers comprising a number of recreational dance groups. In 1967 she established a professional folk/character dance group called Dance Concert, remaining as artistic director until 1977. Walker was also founder and director of the Margaret Walker Folk Dance Centre, 1977-1988. During her career Walker fostered teaching programs, taught in schools, arranged tours for overseas teachers and choreographers in Australia, was involved with the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Association for Dance Education and choreographed the display of folkloric dance at the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. In 1982 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to the performing arts. Walker died in Sydney in 1996.