# BANDALOOP

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**Bandaloop**, formerly **Project Bandaloop** and stylized as **BANDALOOP**, is an [aerial dance](/source/Aerial_dance) company founded in 1991 by Amelia Rudolph. The company's incorporation of [climbing technology](/source/Rock-climbing_equipment) allows dancers to execute routines on vertical surfaces and perform in [public spaces](/source/Public_art).[1]

## Background

It is currently under the artistic direction of Melecio Estrella[2] and is based in [West Oakland](/source/West_Oakland,_Oakland,_California), [California](/source/California). The group's mission statement aims to "honor nature, community, and the human spirit through perspective-bending dance."[3][4]

Rudolph attended [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley), where she studied [contact improvisation](/source/Contact_improvisation) dance and had also recently begun [rock climbing](/source/Rock_climbing). She combined the two disciplines, leading to the founding of Bandaloop.[5] The development of the [Grigri](/source/Grigri) in the early 1990s, and its ability to control and limit a climber's fall distance,[6] made it possible for dancers to move their hands freely while in [climbing harnesses](/source/Climbing_harness).[5]

## Public performance

Bandaloop has performed on both manmade and natural structures. Locations include [rock faces](/source/Cliff) in the [Sierra Nevada Mountains](/source/Sierra_Nevada),[7] the [Space Needle](/source/Space_Needle) in [Seattle](/source/Seattle), [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)), a decommissioned crane in [Kirkenes](/source/Kirkenes), [Norway](/source/Norway), the [Vasco da Gama Tower](/source/Vasco_da_Gama_Tower) in [Lisbon](/source/Lisbon), [Portugal](/source/Portugal), and the fortified citadel of [Golconda](/source/Golconda) in [Hyderabad](/source/Hyderabad), [India](/source/India).[8]

Instead of starting with a performance site, the company will often scout areas with a high amount of [pedestrian](/source/Pedestrian) traffic to find a potential audience. The team will then choose a suitable structure on which it can perform.[5] Dance sequences can range from two to 15 minute long. [PA systems](/source/Public_address_system) are used to play music[7] and allow directors to communicate with dancers from the ground.[8] Safety managers and "riggers" remain on standby to assist performers in distress or in the event of equipment failure.[5]

## Film and media

In the 2018 [IMAX](/source/IMAX) film *[America's Musical Journey](/source/MacGillivray_Freeman_Films)*, Bandaloop dancers performed on the Hall Arts building in the [Dallas Arts District](/source/Arts_District,_Dallas).[9] In the same year, Bandaloop collaborated with [GoPro](/source/GoPro) to release a [short film](/source/Short_film) about the dance company's 2017 performance at the [Café Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival](/source/Caf%C3%A9_Budapest_Contemporary_Arts_Festival). The company also performed the dance *Crossing* for a short film entitled *Shift*, directed by Rudolph and Rachael Lincoln.[10]

In 2021, the [documentary](/source/Documentary) short *Fly Away with BANDALOOP* profiled the dance company, as well as its preparations for a performance in [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)). The public performance was commissioned by Flux Projects to promote [tourism](/source/Tourism) and local interest in [Atlanta's history](/source/History_of_Atlanta).[5]

## See also

- [Aerial Dance](/source/Aerial_Dance)

## References

1. ["From a Great Height: Traversing a Public Canvas with BANDALOOP"](https://www.arts.gov/stories/blog/2018/great-height-traversing-public-canvas-bandaloop). *www.arts.gov*. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 2022-10-30.

1. ["Our Team"](https://www.bandaloop.org/team). *bandaloop.org/*. BANDALOOP. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. ["About BANDALOOP: Innovator of Vertical Dance"](https://www.bandaloop.org/bandaloop-bio). *bandaloop.org*. BANDALOOP. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. Evans, Lynette (2008). *Extreme Sports*. New York: Children's Press, Scholastic Inc. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-531-17759-4.

1. [*Fly Away with BANDALOOP*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQvH6LKGpIo) (documentary short). Atlanta, Georgia: AIB Studios. 2 Dec 2021. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. Austin Beck-Doss (17 March 2022). ["Petzl GriGri Explained: Understanding This Fundamental Belay Device"](https://gearjunkie.com/climbing/petzl-grigri-belay-device-explained). *gearjunkie.com*. GearJunkie. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. ["Project Bandaloop, Dance in a Different Light"](https://web.archive.org/web/20061206221256/http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3496/). The Kennedy Center. Archived from [the original](http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3496/) on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. Lily Janiak (5 April 2022). ["How I learned to fly — or flail — with Oakland’s Bandaloop during ‘Loom:Field’ rehearsal"](https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/dance/how-i-learned-to-fly-or-flail-with-oaklands-bandaloop-during-loomfield-rehearsal). *datebook.sfchronicle.com/*. Datebook [San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle). Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. Jeff Strowe (4 Jan 2018). ["Dallas Makes Brief Appearance in New Imax Film About Iconic Music Cities"](https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/bandaloop-performance-in-dallas-arts-district-featured-in-new-imax-film-americas-musical-journey-10228025). *dallasobserver.com*. Dallas Observer. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

1. Les Roka (11 June 2018). ["Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2018: BANDALOOP raises vertical dance bar in artistic excellence"](https://www.theutahreview.com/backstage-utah-arts-festival-2018-bandaloop-raises-vertical-dance-bar-artistic-excellence/). *theutahreview.com*. The Utah Review. Retrieved 25 Sep 2023.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.bandaloop.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [BANDALOOP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BANDALOOP) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BANDALOOP?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.