With over thirty years experience in the performing arts profession,Internationally recognised dancer and choreographer, Michael Leslie choreographed the original production of the first Aboriginal Australian rock opera, Bran Nue Dae which had toured nationally in 1993. Leslie was the founding member of the Aboriginal and Islander Dance Theatre in Sydney and worked and graduated from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre during 1981 to 1983. During early 1990s he was the resident Choreographer for Black Swan Theatre, Western Australia, and was also a member of the Advisory panel on National Cultural Policy for the Federal Minister of the Arts.
Not only was Leslie recognised as a dancer, but also as an educator, cultural ambassador, entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 2006, he launched the Michael Leslie Pilbara Performing Arts Program, which exposed Pilbara youth to and engage them with the performing arts. And, in 2009 established the not for profit Michael Leslie Foundation for Performing Arts, that aimed to teach and inspire youth in the Pilbara to gain self-respect and pride through the Arts.
