Rural Touring Dance Initiative

A man resting his arms on the shoulders of a woman, who is knelt behind the legs of a woman lying on the floor.

Rural Touring Dance Initiative

In March 2015, Arts Council England’s ‘Rural evidence and data review’ found that only 2% of National Portfolio funded dance companies toured to rural areas in 2012/13.

In 2015 we joined forces, with the National Rural Touring Forum, The Place and Take Art to launch an innovative initiative for making and touring dance performances to rural areas.

Originally a 3 year project, the Rural Touring Dance Initiative has been extended for a further 3 years making the project live until 2021. The aims of the project are to seek out great dance companies that are excited to tour rurally, and to support rural promoters and schemes to build audiences for dance in rural spaces.

Menu 5 was launched in January 2020 – click here to view the programme.

Featuring work by Mr & Mrs Clark, Sonia Sabri Company, Joshua ‘Vendetta’ Nash, Scottish Dance Theatre, Jo Fong and George Orange, Edifice and Chris Patfield & José Triguero.

Previous artists have included:

Alleyne Dance, bgroup, Corali, Curious Seed, The Hiccup Project, Panta Rei, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Protein, James Wilton Dance, Just Us Dance Theatre, Lila Dance, Nikki and JD, Uchenna Dance, Corali, Sadhana, Shane Shambhu, Tom Dale Dance, Dan Watson, Joan Cleville, Lost Dog, Keira Martin, New Art Cub, Lanre Malaolu, Slanjayva Danza and Spilt Milk.

For more information, please visit the Rural Touring Dance Initiative website.

Same Same.. But Different by Sonia Sabri Company
Photo © Simon Richardson

Trailer by filmmaker Rachel Bunce

Booking Now

Autumn 2021

Rural Touring Dance Initiative brings dance back to rural venues with a programme of seven works from leading dance companies comprising new shows and returning favourites, including;

23 September – 25 November | Mr & Mrs Clark – Louder is Not Always Clearer
1 October – 14 November | Sonia Sabri Company – Same Same…But Different
6 October – 13 November | Joshua ‘Vendetta’ Nash – Blacklist/Fig Leaf
7 – 15 October | Scottish Dance Theatre – Antigone, Interrupted
21 October – TBC | Jo Fong and George Orange – The Rest of Our Lives
27 – 30 October | Edifice – Salomé
13 – 14 November | Chris Patfield & José Triguero – Gibbon