Collaboration drives ambitions for dance in the North and London

Ambitions for dance in England are being raised by two partnership projects, in the North and East London.

A new dance partnership has launched its vision for Leeds to become “a dancing city providing leadership in the North for the development of the art form locally, nationally and internationally”.

A parallel development in London will see East London Dance, English National Ballet, Sadler’s Wells and Studio Wayne McGregor lead a collaborative initiative that aims to establish the area as a “world-leading hub for dance”.

Dance in the North

The Leeds Dance Partnership has evolved from the shared ambition of a number of dance organisations and agencies in the area to raise the profile of dance in the city.

Involvement in the partnership will be open to the wider dance community, from major dance companies through to emerging independent artists, as well as cross-sector agencies with an interest and engagement in dance.

The group aims to create new resources for dance, support talent development and extend artistic practice, providing more access points for participants and audiences and creating more opportunities to attract world-class dance to Leeds.

It will apply to Arts Council England’s Ambition for Excellence Fund for support in moving the vision forward.

Leeds will be submitting a proposal in the next round of bids to become European Capital of Culture. Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, has given her support to the partnership in the run-up to a selection process due to be launched before the end of 2016. She described it as “a significant step on the road to the city’s ambition to become the European Capital of Culture in 2023”.

A London dance hub

By 2021, four of Arts Council England’s dance National Portfolio Organisations will have a significant presence in East London. They are working together to drive a shared vision for dance in the area.

East London Dance has been based in Stratford for almost three decades, but it will soon be joined by Studio Wayne McGregor, English National Ballet and English National Ballet School and Sadler’s Wells, which will open a mid-scale venue on the Stratford Waterfront site as part of the Olympicopolis project.

Together, the group will aim to boost school and community engagement with dance, as well as driving artist development and dance commissioning, training, employment and programming. They will develop audiences through joint festivals and events.

Polly Risbridger, Director of East London Dance, said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for dance in East London with the imminent arrival of these world-class facilities. But buildings are only part of the picture. It is the people, the artists, the producers, the educators, the dancers that will make east London a world-leading hub for dance. And this is what East London Dance can bring to this exciting collaboration.”