A rural touring initiative has been set up for contemporary dance, involving eight companies which will tour their shows to rural venues in 2016-17. Contemporary dance companies will join forces with the National Rural Touring Forum in an initiative to take the art form to new audiences, with further companies already shortlisted for the following year’s programme of The Rural Touring Dance Initiative.
For 2016-17, Phoenix Dance, Panta Rei, Spilt Milk and Sonia Sabri Company are among the first round of companies which will tour contemporary dance productions as part of the scheme, alongside Lost Dog, Protein, Joan Cleville Dance and Lîla Dance. In an exciting and new project, the scheme will see the companies visit new venues and play to audiences who may not see much contemporary dance. Five further companies – James Wilton Dance, Sarah Blanc’s Moxie Brawl, Tom Dale Company, Greg Wohead and Ben Wright’s Bgroup – have been shortlisted for a commission of £45,000 to create a new show for 2017-18.
The companies will tour existing shows in partnership with the National Rural Touring Forum, which represents rural touring schemes and arts development agencies including venues and festivals. Four of the the companies selected for the 2016-17 scheme, in addition to those shortlisted for creations for 2017-18, were chosen from an open call after which 155 companies applied to be part of the scheme. In terms of opportunity, the rural touring programme is a fantastic initiative in taking performance to new audiences and extending companies’ reach.
On the whole, mainstream contemporary dance is perhaps more associated with the bolder dance scenes of cities, rather than being something one would normally associate with rural locations. It is therefore particularly encouraging that so many people working within this area of the arts have been enthusiastic about exploring the concept and taking part.