Restless Dance Theatre secures multi-year funding

Restless Dance Theatre, Australia’s leading company working with dancers with and without disability is pleased to announce it has secured multi-year funding from Creative Australia (formally Australia Council) for its 2025 – 2028 seasons.

As the premier dance organisation in Australia for dancers with a disability, this funding underscores the importance of diversity within the arts sector and will allow the company to continue to develop and create work showcasing the extraordinary talents of its dancers.

Chief Executive Officer Julie Moralee Stated:

This financial commitment from Creative Australia represents more than just monetary support for our organisation. It serves as a resounding vote of confidence in our artistic vision and the profound impact of our contribution to the Australian arts landscape.

We would like to take this opportunity to also thank the government of South Australia through Arts SA for their steadfast support of Restless, along with our collaborators, partners, sponsors and individual donors who collectively have supported us over the past four years to continue to deliver our programs. Your unwavering faith and belief in our mission has made this possible, and we can’t wait to embark on this exciting journey together.”

Artistic Director Michelle Ryan remarked:

This investment is instrumental in enabling our organisation to continue creating art for the global stage, providing more employment opportunities for dancers with disability. It also allows the organisation to expand our training programs extending our unique teaching methodologies into national markets and nurture the next generation of dancers with disability.

Creative Producer Roz Hervey emphasised:

By investing in Restless we will be able to continue to make great art through ambitious and courageous storytelling and share with audiences nationally and internationally.

Restless’ 2024 season promises to delve into the depths of artistic expression, presenting a diverse array of talents and mediums, designed to challenge perceptions, ignite imagination, and celebrate the multifaceted richness of the arts.

2024 sees Restless present the world premiere of their new work Private View for the Adelaide Festival.

Private View is an intimate exploration of unspoken stories and secret longing and will run from 29 Feb – 9 March at the Odeon Theatre. The work will then tour to Brisbane and Melbourne later in 2024.

In a world-first, Restless Dance Theatre Company Dancers, in collaboration with Back2Back artists will join forces with four independent Australian artists in a workshop exploring an iteration of the world-famous Pina Bausch work, Kontakthof Led by, Julie Shanahan from the Pina Bausch Foundation, this workshop will bring together 16 Australian artists with disability.

Restless are also in discussion with national and international festivals to tour the company’s repertoire and return to the studio for the creative development of, Holding Space, an innovative site-specific work in collaboration with Melbourne dance artist Michelle Heaven.

Restless’ public programs will continue with their foundation weekly public class program, an elevated Education Outreach program, and the official launch of two new programs, inResidence and inDepth. InResidence will support artists with disability, First Nation artists, LGBTQIA+ artists, and independent artists through complimentary access to the Restless studio space and mentorship.

inDepth will bring Australia’s top dance tutors together to deliver a series of accessible, intensive workshops for students and artists with and without disability. In April, world class dancers Jana Castillo, Dan Daw, Michelle Ryan, Larissa McGowan, Sarah-Jayne Howard, Lina Limosani, Daniel Jaber and Rowan Rossi will host a series of skills-based masterclasses.

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