Chris Dyke, dancer with Down syndrome, makes history with Lighting the Dark

In addition to Lighting the Dark, Chris Dyke is working on ideas for future shows with Dancenorth.  
(ABC News: Baz Ruddick)

By Baz Ruddick, Jessica Naunton and Lily Nothling

Contemporary dance has brought Chris Dyke a long way.

It’s given the 33-year-old independence, a creative outlet and a deep artistic connection with those around him.

As a shy kid with Down syndrome, Dyke started dance classes in Adelaide when he was 12. 

This year, he became the first Australian with Down syndrome to direct a mainstage work for a professional dance company. 

The result is Lighting the Dark: an eclectic and heartfelt work that takes inspiration from Dyke's favourite superheroes, music idols and even street artists.

It was created in the Dancenorth studios in Townsville, which Dyke visits each year to work with the company and his friends Kyle Page and Amber Haines. 

Page, Dancenorth's artistic director, said Dyke came to the company in 2021 with the idea of a "big show" with "lights, sound, costumes and set".

Lighting the Dark uses lighting and music to bring Chris's vision to life. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)

"We said we have to make it happen," Page said.

"[Chris] always offers something wildly unexpected and the creativity just doesn't stop. 

"Even in the lunch break [he's] still making — there is no pausing the creative energy.”

First published at ABC News, December 28, 2024

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