Dance Me to My Song

{{Short description|1998 film}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=December 2016}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Dance Me to My Song

| image = Dance-me-to-my-song-poster-0.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Rolf de Heer

| producer = Rolf de Heer

| writer = Rolf de Heer
Heather Rose
Frederick Stahl

| starring = Heather Rose
Joey Kennedy

| music = Graham Tardif

| cinematography = Tony Clark

| editing = Tania Nehme

| distributor =

| released = {{film date|df=yes|1998|10|22}}

| runtime = 101 minutes

| country = Australia

| language = English

}}

Dance Me to My Song is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by Rolf de Heer about a woman with cerebral palsy who is abused by a professional carer but then manages to seduce her boyfriend. The film was conceived by Heather Rose, who had cerebral palsy in real life and played the lead role herself. She intended the film to be "hot and sexy... not just another soppy disability film".[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/19/dance-me-to-my-song-rewatched-a-profoundly-moving-drama-about-living-with-cerebral-palsy Dance Me to My Song rewatched: a profoundly moving drama about living with cerebral palsy | Film | The Guardian] The villain was played by Joey Kennedy.

The film was entered into the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4897/year/1998.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Dance Me to My Song |access-date=29 September 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204223906/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4897/year/1998.html |archive-date=4 February 2012 }} A documentary was made entitled Heather Rose Goes to Cannes that followed Rose's journey from living alone in Adelaide to attending the festival with her film in competition.{{cite web |title=Heather Rose Goes to Cannes (1998) |url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/heather-rose-goes-to-cannes-1998/14331/ |website=Screen Australia |access-date=23 February 2025}}

The film grossed $175,138 at the box office in Australia.{{Cite web |url=http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |title=Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723234802/http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} Roger Ebert described the film as one where "the human will and spirit overwhelm you".{{Cite web |url=http://www.ebertfest.com/one/dance__rev.htm |title=Dance Me to My Song - mini reviews by Roger Ebert |access-date=30 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923232740/http://www.ebertfest.com/one/dance__rev.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }} David Stratton describes the film as "a warm, positive, affirmation of life".[http://www.sbs.com.au/movies/review/de-heer-displays-customary-compassion De Heer displays customary compassion | SBS Movies] An article in Australian Feminist Studies discusses the film in the genre of women's films.{{cite journal|last1=Simpson|first1=Catherine|last2=Matthews|first2=Nicole|title=DANCING US TO HER SONG: Enabling Embodiment and Voicing Disability in Heather Rose's Dance Me to My Song|journal=Australian Feminist Studies|date=June 2012|volume=27|issue=72|pages=139–155|doi=10.1080/08164649.2012.677117|s2cid=147899207}}

Rose died in 2002.{{cite news |last1=Stahl |first1=Frederick |title=Standing room only for a thunderbolt in wheelchair |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112125830/https://www.smh.com.au/national/standing-room-only-for-a-thunderbolt-in-wheelchair-20021031-gdfrwy.html |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=31 October 2002}}