Lillian Crombie (1958 - ) is from the Pitjintjara/Yungkuntjara Nation.  A Stolen Generation child, she was taken from her parents when she was 7 yrs old, never to see them again. Adopted by a loving household, Lillian he grew up in Port Pirie, South Australia and was encouraged at an early age in the classical forms of dance at the Port Pirie Ballet School.  Her training included classical, modern, jazz ballet and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island dance.

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Moving to Sydney in her teens, she attended the historic workshop at the Black Theatre of Redfern and went on to study acting, dance and drama at NIDA, NAISDA, the EORA Centre and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, NY.

 

Lillian went on to become one of Australia’s leading actors and has had feature roles in numerous films including in Baz Luhrmann’s highly acclaimed AUSTRALIA. She has extensive credits in television including The Secret Life of Us and, most recently, thirteen episodes of the children’s drama series Double Trouble, produced by the Nine Network, Disney and Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association.

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Lillian has played leading roles in many successful theatre productions including Mereki the Peacemaker, Conversations with The Dead, Black Mary — Festival of Dreaming, Gunjies, Capricornia and recently Rainbow’s End. Lillian is trained in classical, modern, jazz ballet and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island dance.

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In 2015, she established The Lillian Crombie Foundation to assist Indigenous families with travel, whether for ‘Sorry Business’ when they have lost loved ones, or to visit family members who are seriously ill. The Foundation provides transportation, costs of travel and communication resources for those who are unable to afford them playing a significant role in the healing and grieving process.

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In 2019 Lillian was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award with equity Foundation for her contribution to the Arts. In 2020 she launched the Lillian Crombie's School of Dance and Drama, fulfilling a dream held since she was a teen.

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