Dance Consortium (DC) was established in 2000. At that time, international dance companies were rarely seen outside of London and international festivals. DC brought together a supportive network of dance-friendly theatres willing to take risks and break ground in presenting companies and work new to UK audiences.
Around 375,000 people have experienced performances and educational activities of international dance organised by DC. The Tours celebrate the diversity of dance styles, choreographers and dancers and have included companies from the USA, Brazil, Australia, The Netherlands, Canada, Taiwan and France.
DC has 19 members, comprising the UK’s leading large scale theatres. Its declared aims are to develop audiences for dance, contribute to the diversity of dance available to audiences in the UK and promote the art form as a source of enjoyment and entertainment.
DC is managed by its member theatres. They decide which companies to tour, aiming to provide a range of styles, scales, artistic perspectives and broad audience appeal. Tours are accompanied by education work that includes workshops and talks by artists.
DC became an Arts Council England Regularly Funded Organisation in 2008. It works with a small number of freelance specialists that currently includes Jeanette Siddall, Consultant Executive; Heather Knight, Coordination; Hans de Kretser, Website Management; Katy Manuel and Shereden Mathews, Marketing and Press. Its Co Chairs are Stuart Griffiths, Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome and John Stalker, Chief Executive, Festival City Theatres in Edinburgh.
DC works with a wide range of promoters, presenters, festivals, other consortia and agencies to bring the very best of world dance to all parts of the UK. It seeks to work with UK dance companies to coordinate touring dates, develop audiences and open up new international markets.
The Dance Consortium website is the place to find film clips, photographs and programme information about the companies toured by DC. It’s also the place to post and find audience reviews, dancers’ diaries, news and an archive of all DC’s previous tours.