Adam Rutherford

Adam Rutherford

“Dance, it has a tribal background, everyone does dance, initially, as kids, and we will do it socially. So I think there's a very powerful message there that can be utilised by choreographers when they're creating their works.”

Adam Rutherford an independent creative practitioner, performer, choreographer, Rehearsal Director and Artistic Director of both Rutherford Dance Company (RDC) and multi-award-winning Rutherford Dance Company Youth (RDC Youth). He explores Global Equality through choreographic projects spanning Europe. In 2018, he was awarded a Dance Hub Birmingham Artistic Commission and was appointed dance lead for the 2022 Commonwealth Games Handover from Australia to Birmingham. Adam was awarded a Lisa Ullman Travel Scholarship Fund (LUTSF) award in 2019 to visit Palucca ‘Hochschule für Tanz’ in Dresden, Germany. 

Adam’s career in the performing arts spans over 15 years and has a successful track record in choreography, education, outreach, youth dance, and professional dance. Adam is a very intelligent and focused Director. He works very closely with his youth company dancers to create an experience for them that is hard to find in any other parts of England. 

This interview with Adam focuses on his vision for his Youth Company. Adam provides the opportunity to his young dancers to help with his decisions in their process of creating works, which captures an exclusive experience in contemporary dance at a young age.  


A transcript of this interview can be found here.

Text and interview by Paige Carr who is an Australian Youth Dance Festival, Youth Ambassadors. This season was presented in partnership with Ausdance Victoria, in conjunction with the Australian Youth Dance Festival (AYDF). Youth Ambassadors were mentored in the process of writing and undertaking interviews. Additional episodes feature: Adam Wheeler, Daniel Riley, Anna Kenrick, Isabella Stone, Cadi McCarthy, and Aparna Nagesh. For more information about this special season click here.

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