About Sandy
Dancer, choreographer, actor, consultant and curator — a life spent telling stories through movement, fabric and, now, the written word.
01 — BiographyThe Author
Sandrushka “Sandy” Whitelaw began her career on the stage, working as a professional dancer, choreographer, and actor with the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and JC Williamson’s. Her early decades in performance were marked by versatility, discipline, and a deep commitment to the craft of storytelling through movement.
As a mature-age student, she completed a Master of Arts and transitioned into a new arena, establishing a successful Industrial Relations consultancy that she led for thirty-two years. Her expertise was recognised internationally, leading to multiple consultancies for the World Health Organization.
Retirement opened an unexpected chapter. Sandy was invited to take stewardship of the largest costume collection in Australia, a role that drew together her lifelong knowledge of performance, textiles, and historical dress. She is now the Curator of Costume for the National Trust of South Australia, where she develops and presents exhibitions of period costume, bringing history to life through fabric, silhouette, and narrative.
Most recently, she has returned to Community Theatre as both performer and Costume Designer, a full-circle return to the stage where her story first began.
Period lace costume from the collection.
Costume & community theatre
Bringing history to life through fabric
As Curator of Costume for the National Trust of South Australia, Sandy develops and presents exhibitions of period costume. Her most recent return to Community Theatre — as performer and Costume Designer — brings her career full circle, uniting the stagecraft she learned as a young dancer with a lifetime of knowledge in textiles and historical dress.
Explore her new book