Initially called Dundee Rep Dance Company (DRDC), Scottish Dance Theatre was created by Royston Maldoom in 1986 as both a community company and a professional company, with the two elements co-existing.

DRDC had three original dancers – Frank McConnell, Craig McKnight and Liz Gardner, along with two trainees – and the company toured widely in Scotland undertaking residencies and performances, winning critical acclaim on a national level.  When Tamara McLorg took over the reins at DRDC, she strengthened both strands of the company – the outreach/community programme and the professional performance side – winning the Digital Award for Dance in 1991. Her successor, Neville Campbell, changed the name to Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT) in 1995. Janet Smith was appointed Artistic Director in June 1997. One of the most inventive, respected and established dance producers in Britain today, Janet’s work has been described as 'dance about people which speaks straight to the heart of the audience'.  Under her direction, SDT’s size and status has grown and the company’s choreography has developed a sophistication and maturity, recognized for its originality, clarity and simplicity.

In 2004, the company unveiled a new £1m+ state of the art dance studio at home at Dundee Rep Theatre, transforming working conditions for visiting choreographers and SDT’s 9 talented dancers. It has also allowed SDT to extend links with the local community by offering dance classes to all ages and levels. SDT won the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Company Repertoire (Modern) in 2003 and a Herald Angel Award at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe. SDT were also nominated for a Total Theatre Award for The Life and Times of Girl A at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010.

In January 2009 Janet won the 2008 Jane Attenborough Dance UK Industry Award. This honours an individual working in dance who has made an outstanding contribution to the artform.

Scottish Dance Theatre continues to tour extensively in Scotland, throughout the UK and increasingly internationally with recent performances in Greece, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Portugal, China, Dubai and The Netherlands.