Dance grants put a spring in the step
Eight dance artists supported by county fund
Determined to keep dance on the agenda in the county, Northumberland Dance Development Fund has announced ‘micro grants’ of up to £3,000 to eight professional dance artists and companies.
The fund is managed by The Maltings (Berwick) Trust in partnership with Queen’s Hall, Hexham, and Alnwick Playhouse.
The grants, awarded following an open call in December, are designed to stimulate and develop dance projects and community focused dance activities in Northumberland this year.
The successful applicants are…
Meta4 Dance Company for Fisherfolk, planned as a vibrant celebration of Northumberland’s fishing heritage, bringing to life through performance the stories, traditions and resilience of the region’s fishing communities.
The company plans collaborations between local artists, groups and residents to provide a platform for shared storytelling, movement and music – all aimed at ensuring the legacy of Northumberland’s fishing culture is honoured and revitalised for future generations.
Lizzie Klots whose new dance performance, Abundance, is to feature an intergenerational cast of six - three volunteer performers in their sixties and three professionals in their thirties, accompanied by live music from Me Lost Me.
The work, says Lizzie, “redefines abundance as a sense of having and being enough” while exploring “themes of connection, time scarcity, authenticity, pleasure and community”.
Esther Huss for her new collaboration with Tim Rubidge, From Coast to Cleugh, which is to take place in their respective creative spaces, The Tute at Cambois, near Blyth, and Burnlaw in the North Pennines.
Both dance artists feel a strong connection to their surrounding landscapes and in this collaboration will explore ways to connect Tim's extensive experience with the perspectives of the next generation, represented by Esther.
Rosie Macari for Reclaiming Roots, an aerial dance project that fuses vertical dance techniques with nature, exploring themes of human connection, heritage, and the environment.
The funding will support a week-long residency including artistic research, technical mentorship with aerial performance specialists Newton’s Ladder and choreographer Anthony Lo-Giudice.
Anthony LoGuidice for a project with the working title Ghosts of England, involving the re-imagining of Northumbrian folk dances, a residency at the Queen’s Hall and working with Hexham Morris.
New choreography emerging from that will be incorporated into a piece due to tour North East venues in the autumn and also feed into workshops planned for June, Pride Month in the UK.
Emma Hardman whose Moving at Edges builds on previous dance workshops held last autumn with groups in Alnwick.
The dance artist will work with a group of local women to create short pieces to be performed in the Alnmouth Friary gardens during Alnmouth Art Festival in June.
Eliot Smith Dance will put the money towards a series of ‘pit dance’ workshops for Northumberland primary school children and work with 10 adults in the South East of the county to restage the community dance piece, Haway The Lasses.
The project will also include the re-staging of The Miner from Eliot’s dance work PITMAN, performed at the Northumberland Miners’ Picnic.
Rendez-vous Dance Company for “I’d just like to put flowers in your room”, a new duet choreographed by Mathieu Geffré for two professional dancers to be developed in a residency at Queen’s Hall, Hexham.
Carrying on their tradition of presenting LGBTQIA+ narratives on stage, the intention is to blend literature with contemporary dance, drawing inspiration from intimate letters exchanged by Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West and also Woolf's novel, Orlando: A Biography, where Sackville-West is immortalised as the title character.
Lucy Vaughan, head of creative engagement for Maltings (Berwick) Trust, said: “The panel of representatives from the three partner venues and Northumberland County Council were very impressed by the quality and range of applications.
“After a day of interviews in February we are delighted to support these eight dance artists and companies so that they can develop their projects over the coming months for audiences, school and communities in Northumberland.
“We would like to thank everyone who applied for the funding and to acknowledge the ambition of the wide range of proposals received.
“The funded proposals will create work either with participants or develop new dance productions to tour to venues in Northumberland and further afield, contributing to a thriving dance sector in the county.”