Australian Institute of Music –
Dramatic Arts

Former names	Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (1983–2013)
Type	Subsidiary
Established	1983; 41 years ago (1983)[1]
Parent institution	Australian Institute of Music
Location	Sydney CBD , New South Wales , Australia 33°52′24″S 151°12′29″E / 33.87333°S 151.20806°E / -33.87333; 151.20806
Campus	Urban
Website	Official website

The Australian Institute of Music – Dramatic Arts (AIMDA), formerly known as the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA), is a drama school in Sydney. It offers a degree in acting and theatre-making as a department of the Australian Institute of Music (AIM).

AIM Dramatic Arts was formerly known as the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (AADA)^[2][3] and was established in 1983.^[1] It became the first private drama school in Australia to gain State vocational education accreditation, in 1987.^[4] In 2006, AADA became a department of the Australian Institute of Music (AIM),^[1] and in 2013 was rebranded as Australian Institute of Music – Dramatic Arts. From 2007, Andrew Davidson was the Head of the School,^[1] and in 2013 Peta Downes took over as Head of Dramatic Arts.^[5]

In 2007, consultation with the theatre industry began to create a unique, university-level qualification. The growing independent theatre scene in Sydney and other Australian capitals was now to be supported by a custom-built training in contemporary theatre practice, "a unique education for the Actor / Creator / Producer". The school took the baton from the University of Western Sydney's now-defunct Theatre Nepean, a training program that gave the Australian performing arts sector over a decade of graduates who are all-round theatre makers. In 2009, the department accepted its first intake of students in the new Bachelor of Performance degree.^{[citation needed]}

Students undertake a unique interaction with a creative workplace and, often, a future employer. They are matched with leading performing arts companies in Sydney, during or following their final trimester of study. Placement Partners include: Bell Shakespeare, Channel 7, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, Fountainhead Casting, Griffin Theatre, Performance Space, Playwriting Australia, Powerhouse, Shopfront, Sport for Jove, Sydney Theatre Company, Tamarama Rock Surfers, and Version 1.0.^{[citation needed]}

Main Campus is located at the Australian Institute of Music, 1–15 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills. Established in 1968 by the late Peter Calvo, the campus of the Australian Institute of Music has grown since the 1990s to house two concert halls, a black box theatre, four dance and drama studios, and multiple classroom, rehearsal and practice spaces.^{[citation needed]}

Teaching and performances took place at the historic Pilgrim Theatre, located in Pilgrim House at 262 Pitt Street, Sydney until early 2017. Built in the Italian Palazzo style in 1927-8, the theatre was used as a broadcast and recording hall for live radio during the Great Depression. It was host to international performers, including Noël Coward, in the 1940s. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and 2GB Radio were tenants until the 1970s. Throughout the 1990s, Sydney Art Theatre was the resident company.^{[citation needed]}

The school's lease began in 2004 and finished in May 2017. The Dramatic Arts department is now^[when?] situated at AIM's main campus, 1–15 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills.^{[citation needed]}

• Blackrock – opened 12 May 2004^[6]
• 13 – opened 22 August 2015^[7]

• Alana Patience^{[citation needed]}
• Salme Geransar^[8]
• Reshad Strik^[9]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australian Institute of Music – Dramatic Arts.

• Official website – Australian Academy of Dramatic Art (archive 19 August 2006)
• Official website – Australian Institute of Music – Dramatic Arts