Reykjavík Dance Festival is an international centre for choreographic practices in Iceland - seeking to curate an all year round conversation with its audiences – through the artists we present, support and produce.
Founded in 2002, RDF's central activity has always been its international festival which now takes place in November. Since 2014 however, RDF has extended its activities – to include national and international initiatives throughout the year in the form of mini-festival formats, workshops, and residencies.
Joint Artistic Directors -
Brogan Davison and Pétur Ármannsson
Brogan and Pétur met in Iceland in 2010, in Brogan’s first week in Iceland when Pétur attended one of her dance classes in Egilsstaðir, in the East of Iceland. They started creating performance projects together the same year before making Dance for me in 2013 - a duet piece between Brogan and Pétur’s father Ármann Einarsson - which propelled them into the international performance scene. Since then, they have presented work in over sixty venues in eleven countries.
Over the years they have worked with the formats of dance, biographical performance and stand-up and their art practice has taken them from the black box into the living rooms of strangers all over the globe.
Today Brogan and Pétur run Reykjavík Dance Festival from their kitchen table alongside their five year old daughter Írena Ljósbjörg and baby Marey Lóa.
The Team
Lead Producer, PR & Marketing Director
- Andrea Elín Vilhjálmsdóttir
Andrea Elín Vilhjálmsdóttir has been active in Reykjavík’s performance and theatre scene for the past decade, working as a dramaturg and director on a wide range of productions. She is a core member of the performance collective Trigger Warning and producer of Plöntutíð, an eco-dramaturgical performance festival. Andrea has also produced and managed projects for numerous festivals and theatre productions, most recently at Reykjavík Arts Festival as Project Manager and Hub programmer.
Project manager and producer - Youth projects
Lilja Björk Haraldsdóttir has been active in the international performing arts and culture scene for years, working as a project manager and producer with a special focus on youth participation, creative processes, and cross-border collaboration. Currently, she is the primary Project Manager at Reykjavík Dance Festival for Tilfinningaskólinn (School of Emotions), a transnational Erasmus+ initiative developed alongside Rosendal Teater in Norway and Lavanderia a Vapore in Italy.
Lilja has extensive experience developing cultural programs and working closely with local youth communities, independent artists, and prominent institutions. Beyond her management role at Reykjavík Dance Festival, she serves as the chairperson of the Association of professional Icelandic Dance Artists (Félag íslenskra listdansara) and is the president of the Performing Arts alliance of Iceland. (Sviðslistasamband Íslands).
Technical Director
- Juliette Louste
Juliette Louste (FR) has been educated as dancer and choreographer. She graduated from the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona (Superior Dance Conservatory), with a master degree in Choreography, with honours. Working on and around stage since 2004, she has been working as a dancer, choreographer and improviser as much as technical director, technician and light designer. She also has been teaching for more than 15 years. Established in Iceland since 2015 she works with independent projects but also for the main theatres in Reykjavík, as well as outside the country. She also built her own company. She has been working in numerous art festivals, and is currently the technical director of the Reykjavík Dance Festival, Reykjavík Fringe Festival and UNGI.