1999: REAson d'etre dance (RDD) was founded by Kathleen Rea who lives with autism and a learning disabilities. This means the company is disability lead and benefits from the unique perspective that Kathleen brings.
2009: Incorporated.
1999: Inaugural weekly Dance Jam. Running every week for 24 years, it's the creative heart from which all RDD programming emerges.
2002: "Flux". First collaboration with a musician live on stage; a Now Magazine "Top Ten Show". Inspired Kathleen to include live music as a key to RDD programming.
2004: "Lapinthrope". Dance film screened at 14 festivals. Fully embraced storytelling in a fable of a woman who grew up with wild rabbits.
2008: "Long Live", a theatrical storyline, live original music, large inter-generational cast. Nominated for three DORA awards.
2013: The inaugural Contact Dance International Film Festival (CDIFF) which has run every two years since its inception. The 2021 rendition was online due to the COVID pandemic and we recently completes our sixth season as a hybrid (in person and online) event in June 2023.
2015: started Lab series which explored the Axis Syllabus to help dancers move with greater ease and prevent injury. This Influenced Kathleen's choreography, which now strives to include movements that work with a dancer's body.
2016: started EVERY BODY Can Dance Jam, providing a place for people to dance using wheelchairs, inclusive of all abilities. Fully embracing the accessibility inherent in Contact Dance.
2016/2017: Kathleen creates "Men's Circle", a stage production that tells the story of men in a therapy group. This piece involved scriptwriting and theatrical direction. Truly multidisciplinary story-telling with Contact Dance at its heart.
2020: Started the outdoor PROPinquity Dance Jam as a COVID adaptation in which dancers interacted with props in an outdoor setting.
2021 ongoing: "The After Jam Concert Series" provides a platform to showcase new CI-inspired works. Three new works are presented a year plus one or two community performance nights in which the community signs up to perform.
2021: Premiered "Five Angels on the Steps" danced by Kathleen Rea, choreographed by Newton Moraes with lighting by Sharon DiGenova.
2020/2022: Kathleen Rea and Vivian Chong create "Dancing with the Universe", which tells the story of Vivian losing her sight and discovering herself as a multidisciplinary artist. In 2020, this production was canceled due to COVID just weeks from its premiere. When restrictions were lifted, production resumed, and "Dancing with the Universe" was remounted in the spring of 2022 as part of Harbourfront Centre's CoMotion Deaf and Disability Arts Festival. Vivian Chong received a DORA award nomination for outstanding performance.
2023: Co produced "Finding Helix" and "Frames of Control" and integrated dance theatre/circus performance.