Restless Dance Theatre

💗 EMERGING ARTISTS | NEW WORK

Our Emerging Artists are spending 5 weeks working with independent theatre director Ashton Malcolm to devise and create a brand-new work.

Since 2021, the Emerging Artists Program has supported the next generation of Restless dancers through professional training, creative development and hands-on industry experience.

This project gives the dancers space to explore their own creative voices while collaborating with an experienced industry artist.

We can’t wait to see what they create! 🩷

✨ Celebrating 35 Years of Restless Dance | The Singing of Angels (2003) ✨

The Singing of Angels was a powerful co-production bringing together Restless Dance Company, Tutti Arts Ensemble, the Holdfast Choir, and students from Surrey Downs Primary School and Modbury Special School.

Set against the magical backdrop of St Peter’s Cathedral, the work explored profound questions of identity, the meaning of life and the afterlife, creating a performance of transcendent beauty.

Co-directed by Pat Rix and Brian Gilbertson, with the Restless dancers directed by Rivika Worth, the work brought together dance, music and community in an ambitious cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Creative Team
Direction: Rivka Honeybee Worth
Design: Gaelle Mellis & Louise Dunn
Music Composition: Zoë Barry
Music Performance: Zoe Barry – Cello
Belinda Gehlert Violin
Photographer: Nick Hughes

The Dancers
James Bull, Cris del Campo, Gemma Coley, Daniel Daw, Nadia Ferencz, Rachel High, Sophie Janzon, Sulmaz Khazeie, Annie Linder, Andrew Nixon, Anastasia Retallick, Jay Robinson, Stuart Scott, Lauren Smeaton, Dimitrios Vuthoulkas & Jess White.

35 years of creating work that brings people together, challenges expectations and celebrates the extraordinary possibilities of inclusive dance.

https://restlessdance.org/35-years-of-restless-dance-theatre/

✨ Celebrating 35 Years of Restless Dance | Creating the Spectacle (2018) ✨

In 2018, Restless Dance Theatre was commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival to create a 10-minute introductory dance sequence for Creating the Spectacle, a work featuring UK artist Sue Austin performing in her adapted underwater wheelchair.
Performed over two nights at the North Adelaide Aquatic Centre, the Restless dancers performed alongside the pool before Sue Austin entered the water.

Working in a busy public environment, the twelve Restless dancers demonstrated incredible professionalism, bringing their energy, artistry and presence to this unique collaboration.

Creating the Spectacle was a powerful celebration of disability, art and possibility-challenging audiences to see disability not through a lens of limitation, but through creativity, innovation and artistic vision.

📍 Adelaide Film Festival 2018 | North Adelaide Aquatic Centre

ReMix has been creating and devising workshops for Autistic and neurodivergent students — and now, the ReMix team are taking those workshops into schools and delivering them.

These workshops are led and devised by Autistic and neurodivergent Restless dancers, drawing on their lived experience, creativity and expertise to create dance experiences that are accessible and inclusive.

Representation matters. When young people see Autistic and neurodivergent artists not only participating, but leading, creating and teaching, it can help expand what they see as possible for themselves and for others.

We had the pleasure of working with Ocean View P-12 College, where the ReMix team shared their workshops with students.

📸 Thank you to Ocean View College for capturing these moments!

See more about ReMix here: https://restlessdance.org/remix/

✨ Celebrating 35 Years of Restless Dance | Proximal (2001)✨

Proximal evolved from the dancers’ lived experiences of being in their bodies. Exploring the body as the carrier of identity, individuality, memories and personal history, the creative process delved into proximal space- our personal space, the space we occupy, and the spaces between us.

The work demanded a different performance presence from the dancers, creating a sensory world that invited audiences to connect with the beauty and simplicity of bodies in motion.

Creative Team
Director: Ingrid Voorendt
Set & Costume Design: Gaelle Mellis
Lighting Design: David Gadsden
Video Design: Tamsin Sharp
Music: Composed and performed by Heather Frahn

The Dancers
Elisa Benthin, James Bull , Gemma Coley, Kynan Coley, Cris del Campo, Lisa Engelaar Nadia Ferencz, Anna Catherine Hickey-Moody , Rachel High , Sophie Janzon, Sulmaz Khazeie, Ziggy Kuster, Andrew Nixon, Ana Retallick, Stuart Scott, Lauren Smeaton and Mario Späte Music

✨ Celebrating 35 Years of Restless Dance ✨

35 Years of Restless | Headlong (2001/2002)

Originally created in 2001 and reimagined in 2002, Headlong explored the transition from school into the wider world. By combining original choreography with new ideas from incoming dancers, the work evolved while staying true to its heart—celebrating individuality, collaboration and creative expression.

Creative Team
🎭 Direction: Ingrid Voorendt
🎨 Design: Gaelle Mellis
💡 Lighting Design & Production/Stage Management: David Gadsden
🎵 Original Music: Heather Frahn
🌟 Artistic Director: Rivika Worth @
📋 Company Manager: Nick Hughes Nick Hughes

Featuring the dancers:
James Bull • Gemma Coley • Daniel Daw • Cris del Campo • Lisa Engelaar • Anna Hickey-Moody • Finegan Kruckemeyer • Andrew Nixon

As we celebrate 35 years of Restless Dance Theatre, we'd love you to share your memories from 1991–2026. Whether it's a performance, workshop, or a moment that stayed with you, your story is part of our history.
Together, these memories celebrate a company that continues to inspire audiences in Australia and around the world.

https://restlessdance.org/news/share-your-stories-with-us/