ReelDance

REELDANCE Inc.
Established 1999, closed 31 August 2012, Sydney, Australia.

Over the past 13 years ReelDance forged an international reputation as an organisation dedicated to innovative collaborative practice across dance, film and new media art.

Established by the One Extra Company in 1999, ReelDance began as a response to the growth in screen-based works being made in dance arenas overseas, and the need to foster a burgeoning field of practice in Australia and New Zealand. Under the guidance of founding director Erin Brannigan, the first ReelDance Festival was staged in 2000 – a one-off screening in Sydney‘s Chinatown that became a biennial event with an ever-growing tour schedule.

In 2004, ReelDance became the Australian representative within the international Media and Dance Network (MAD) of screen dance organisations worldwide. In 2008, after 8 years as a project of One Extra and then the Performance Space, ReelDance began operating independently.

In 2009, the Australia Council for the Arts granted ReelDance the status of ‘emerging key organisation’. However, due to changes in funding circumstances, ReelDance closed on 31 August 2012.

Through its range of commissions, exhibitions, collecting, creative workshops and public forums, ReelDance provided a significant platform for the development of screen dance culture in Australia and beyond.

A major achievement of ReelDance has been the Moving Image Collection, comprised of Australian and international screen dance works. The collection will be preserved and expanded by the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and many of the works will be accessible online.

The ReelDance MIC is a significant and continually expanding resource containing significant examples of local and international dance on screen work. 

View the Collection