ReelDance International Dance on Screen Festival 2008 is our 5th biennial festival since 2000. The ReelDance Festival celebrates the point where dance and film meet, showcasing the best of recent work from around the world and across the country. In 2008, ReelDance Inc. moves into a new phase of activities encompassing artist development, education and distribution, and this is reflected in the diverse and multi-faceted slate of programs contained in this year’s touring festival.
The 5th biennial ReelDance Festival focuses on dance and movement in everyday life with dancefilms featuring ballroom and mambo, hip hop and burlesque. By representing dance in all its forms we aim to highlight how often it touches and enhances our everyday lives. At the same time, the festival continues to represent the best of dance as a performing art in the most recent and cutting edge dancefilms.
This year the festival also has an expanded program that goes well beyond film screenings, tailored to fit each of our 11 national and New Zealand touring partners. There are 7 screening sessions on offer including the return of both Kidreels and the popular music video program (this year in collaboration with MuVi at Oberhausen Film Festival), and the centrepiece of our program – the ReelDance Awards for new Australian and New Zealand shorts and documentaries which will be presented in Sydney on the 18th of May.
Our international guests this year, UK artists Katrina McPherson and Simon Fildes, bring their touring installation the move-me.com booth, an adaptation of the photo booth environment where you can create your own short dancefilms and upload them to move-me.com booth’s award-winning website.
There is also a swing club at several tour stops with a live band, projected archival swing dance footage and dancing instruction. And in Melbourne an associated live performance, Get a Grip, will be linked to classic hip hop and parkour feature films screening at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
