From its earliest days One Extra challenged the way dance is produced and understood in Australia. The company began as a vehicle for the work of its founding director Kai Tai Chan (1976-1991). Through the Kai Tai years One Extra engaged a wide range of artists in its process - dancers, actors, singers, choreographers, directors - all who helped to created eclectic, challenging work under the umbrella of this unusual dance/performance company. Some key works from this period included: Jacarada Blue, Midday Moon, AQ Goes West & People Like Us. From 1992 to 1996 One Extra became the joint artistic responsibility of choreographer/performers Graeme Watson and Julie-Anne Long. Their work continued to push boundaries and challenge artists and audiences with collaborations between choreographers, designers and composers, producing memorable works such as Cat Steps Softly, Drowning in a Sea of Dreams, Antwatchers, Cannibal Race & Body of Evidence.

For the last 9 years One Extra has been production house for contemporary dance and dance/theatre in Sydney. This move was steered firstly by Janet Robertson (1996-1999) and is now the responsibility of Amanda Card (2000-). Artists such as Kay Armstrong, Narelle Benjamin, Brian Carbee, Martin del Amo, Lisa Ffrench, The Fondue Set, Lucy Guerin, Sue Healey, Wendy Houstoun, Julie-Anne Long, Marilyn Miller, Tess de Quincey, Garry Stewart, Dean Walsh & Michael Whaites have worked with the company under this structure.

Throughout its history, One Extra's structure has been moulded by the contemporary realities of life as a dance artist in Australia. It has always been a flexible organisation, responsive to the needs and desires of the artists it represents. The move to a producer led organization in 1996 reflected the changing realities of the contemporary environment for dancers & choreographers in Australia at that time. As elsewhere, more and more artists found themselves working independently with little or no infrastructure & managerial support. Today, One Extra provides a location within which the most promising or experienced independent local dance artists can find a supportive environment to make their work. This allows these artists to practice their craft without being swamped and distracted by the pressures of managing everything from administration to finance and promotion as well as making new work.

The development and maintenance of experimentation with form & content and the stimulation of a collaborative, supportive environment have been the major inspirations for all those involved with One Extra over the last 28 years. Under the direction of Producer Amanda Card, One Extra continues to be informed by this radical history, structural flexibility, a desire to support artists, and the need for audiences to see works that confront, stimulate, amuse & inspire.

Our recent move to Performance Space, Sydney's premiere venue for contemporary performance, offers the company a great space from which to continue to help create dance work in a challenging, informed & exciting environment, and help build audiences for dance that is made in NSW.