Austin Dance Festival

ABOUT

AUSTIN DANCE FESTIVAL 2023 RECAP

“It gets better every year!”

“The best dance festival yet!”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better experience!”

Austin Dance Festival was conceived as a dance community event to bring people together in a spirit of cooperation and celebration, and that vision held strong in 2023. The best part of the festival is seeing the astounding creativity that lives within the large and encompassing field of modern/contemporary dance and dance on film; meeting the artists at the opening reception and learning more about their work during artist interviews; talking about the dances with friends old and new; and watching people walk away inspired, enlightened, and entertained.

Speaking of which, how about those sold-out events? Thank you for showing up, people. Your presence made this year’s festival a great success.

A big shout-out to the artists who participated in this year’s events at Rollins Theatre in The Long Center. Thanks to you, we saw the work of 16 professional dance companies and independent choreographers in two completely different showcases. We watched performances by 18 youth dance companies in two non-competitive concerts. And we feasted our eyes on dance films from 7 different countries in our curated Dance on Film movie night. We saw riveting dances and films that connected us to personal stories relating to substance abuse, loss of innocence, chaos and cosmos, and the perception of reality. But we also saw works that made us laugh, cheer, and whoop it up.

In addition to presenting performances at Rollins Theatre, we partnered with Austin Community College’s Dance Department (thank you!) to offer a day-long educational symposium that featured four master classes by four different guest artists, a pro chat Q&A, and a college dance fair with 8 participating colleges and universities. We hosted two additional master classes for youth at Blue Lapis Light’s studio and two more for adults at Cafe Dance. That’s 8 classes in this year’s Master Class Series that offered instruction in technique, improvisation, partnering, repertory, and aerial silks.

Austin Dance Festival offers a lot of events over three days, but most of the festival actually happens behind the scenes. If you could look behind the curtain, you’d see eight months of intense planning by our festival directors, support staff, board of directors, and creative collaborators. You’d also see our lighting director, backstage production crew, front of house crew, and volunteers putting in long days and nights to make sure the festival runs smoothly. We couldn’t do it without them!

Lastly, a huge thanks to The Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and donors to Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company for helping fund the festival, and also to our media sponsor, Sight Lines, for additional in-kind support. This festival would not be possible without grant support and financial gifts from our donors.

Thanks for a great Austin Dance Festival 2023, and we hope to see you in 2024.

Kathy Dunn Hamrick

Executive Director

SCHEDULE

SEE WHAT WE DID IN 2023!

See Full Fest Schedule

See Professional Showcases

See Dance on Film Schedule

See Youth Edition Schedule

See Master Class Schedule

TICKETS

Tickets for 2024 will be available here!

APPLY

Applications for 2024 will open in the fall of 2023.

Meanwhile, check out the guidelines for our most recent festival.

Professional Artist

Guidelines, FAQs, and Application

Youth Dance

Guidelines, FAQs, and Application

DANCE ON FILM

The link to submit applications through Film Freeway is HERE!

MEDIA

Artist Interviews

See more artist interviews at vimeo.com/austindancefestival

Dance on Film Trailers

Dance on Film Trailer 2021

Dance on Film Trailer 2020

PRESS

Austin Dance Festival 2023

David Robinson’s Preview of Austin Dance Festival

CTX Live Theatre

David Robinson’s Review of Dance on Film

CTX Live Theatre

Austin Dance Festival 2021

David Robinson’s Reviews of Austin Dance Festival 2021

CTX Live Theatre, Part 1 of 2

CTX Live Theatre, Part 2 of 2

Austin Dance Festival 2020

David Robinson’s Review of Dance on Film 2020

Art Profiler - Dance on Film (Austin Dance Festival) Review

Austin Dance Festival 2019

David Robinson’s Backstage Perspective

ArtProfiler - Part 1: Read about the Dance on Film showcase

ArtProfiler - Part 2: Read about the Professional showcase

ArtProfiler - Part 3: Read about the Youth Academy showcase

SIGHTLINES

Previews of Dance on Film screening

2019 Archive

2018 Archive

2017 Archive

FAQ

WHAT KIND OF DANCES AM I GOING TO SEE?

Our festival presents contemporary modern works. Since each dance reflects what is important to that particular choreographer, our programming is incredibly diverse. Look for expression, meaning, abstraction, virtuosity, minimalism, humor, gravity, grace, design, experimentation, movement invention, and more.

WHAT IS THE THEATER LIKE? DO I NEED TO BRING MY OPERA GLASSES?

We want our audience members to be close to the action and to enjoy great sightlines, so we present our showcases in small theaters where the seats are on risers so you won’t miss any of the action. Rollins Studio Theater is a 138-seat black box theater in The Long Center. Every seat is a great seat.

CAN I BRING MY FAMILY?

We suggest bringing young children to the Youth Edition Concert to see our pre-professional dance companies. These dances are better suited to young audiences than our professional showcases. Some films in the Dance on Film screening may contain adult content.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO AT THE FESTIVAL?

Take a master class, listen to artist interviews and the director’s chat, attend the college dance fair. The theater is located downtown near Lady Bird Lake and close to hiking trails, restaurants, shopping, and museums.

HOW DO YOU SELECT THE PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS?

Dance artists and companies submit videos of their work to the festival. A diverse group of choreographers, educators, and dance writers from across the country review artist submissions and make recommendations based upon factors such as creativity and innovation, development of ideas, choreographic structure, execution, diversity, and historical, social, and cultural perspectives. The Executive Director uses the recommendations to curate showcases that highlight superior work in the broad field of modern dance, that demonstrate equitable representation, that showcase a variety of local, regional, and national work, and that deepen our understanding of ourselves and each other.

HOW DO YOU SELECT THE YOUTH DANCE COMPANIES?

Youth dance company directors submit videos of their company work to the festival.The festival directors strive to represent a wide range of modern dances from local, regional, and national youth dance companies. We look for submissions that are fully-realized pieces of choreography, that are well-rehearsed, and that are executed in a highly-proficient manner. The dances must also meet fundamental guidelines including but not limited to age range and length of dance.

HOW DO YOU SELECT THE FILMS?

Filmmakers submit their work exclusively through FilmFreeway. Dance on Film co-directors and guest panelists then view film submissions from around the world. We look for films that combine choreography and inventive elements of cinematography. The panel curates screenings in which dance forms such as tap, hip-hop, jazz, African diasporic dance, modern dance, folk dance, and ballet are central to the film’s narrative or structure.

ADA COMPLIANCE POLICY

Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company will provide reasonable modifications and equal access to communications by request. Please provide two weeks advance notice if you require accommodations. Contact: kathy@kdhdance.com or 512-934-1082.