It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962 , with the English-born dancer , teacher , repetiteur and director Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director .
It was started in 1962 by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust . The first artistic director was Dame Peggy van Praagh , the English-born dancer , teacher , repetiteur and director .