Restless Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company based in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Founded in 1991, it comprises young performers with and without a disability. It conducts workshops and tours throughout Australia. The company, originally called Restless Dance Company, changed its name to Restless Dance Theatre in 2008.
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The Company
The Restless Dance Company was founded in 1991 by Sally Chance and Tania Rose and was incorporated in 1996. The current Artistic Director is Michelle Ryan who has been the Artistic Director since 30 September 2014.
Restless Dance Theatre is an integrated company that works with young dancers with and without a disability. Restless works primarily but not exclusively with dancers with an intellectual disability However, dancers may also be in wheelchairs, be partially blind and have a physical disability or mental illness. It performed at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Arts Festival.
As an integrated dance company, the art is made by young people with and without a disability working together. Rehearsals are structured so that the content and the expression of the dance are led by the people with a disability.
The guiding values which underpin the company’s work are:
Awards
The company won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Youth or Community Dance at the 2010 Australian Dance Awards for Bedroom Dancing.
Reviews
"Restless Dance Company is without question a leader in the field of youth dance and working with young people with and without a disability." Lowdown Magazine. April 2005.
"That the result would be a success, few doubted. But for it to be quite so good, quite so competitive by any standards, makes it something special.... Expressive powers of this quality remind us of the transcending power of the arts." The Advertiser.2 August 2005.
"Duets feature apparently effortless feats of balance and support that would tax any dancer. Yet you're entirely unaware of the varying physical abilities of the individual performers; an impressive achievement in an ensemble where disability might otherwise be regarded as a bridge too far. This has been Restless' hallmark for some time and Channells has embraced it fully." Peter Burdon. The Advertiser November 2010
"In the choreography of Rebel Rebel, I saw dancers becoming artists for the future." RealTime. June–July 2007.