NSCD’s Artist Development Programme, supported by funding from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), offers critical support to dance artists at various stages of their careers. The programme focuses on providing tailored resources to help artists strengthen their creative practices, increase their visibility, and sustain their careers within the dance sector. NSCD’s commitment to developing diverse and innovative talent ensures that the programme is inclusive and accessible to artists across the North of England.
A key strand of the Artist Development Programme, Northern Colour, specifically supports artists of the global majority, empowering them to enhance their presence and creative voice within the dance industry. This initiative fosters diversity and inclusion by providing tailored mentorship, funding, and visibility for underrepresented artists in the North of England. Find out more about the programme: www.nscd.ac.uk/opportunities/northern-colour
The VERVE Research Commissions offer an exciting opportunity for artists to share their ongoing research with VERVE dancers, allowing for collaborative exploration and practice-sharing. This initiative is open to artists of all movement backgrounds, and each commission supports the artist’s creative process with bespoke guidance from VERVE Artistic Director. The commission provides a paid opportunity for the artist to work with the company, develop their practice, and connect with NSCD’s wider artistic community. Find out more about the programme: www.nscd.ac.uk/opportunities/open-call-verve-research-commissions
VERVE Residencies are funded opportunities for artists from the Global Majority based in the African continent, of any movement background, to share their on-going research with dancers from VERVE, postgraduate touring company of NSCD. Find out more about the programme: www.nscd.ac.uk/opportunities/verve-residencies
VERVE Residencies bring together the success of VERVE Research Commission and Northern Colour allowing for a sharing, related workshops and panel discussions around artists of the global majority and their practice. Artists across the North will be invited and encouraged to join this activity – further details to be announced.
OUTBOUND is a national artist development programme designed to support independent creatives in expanding their networks, building new audiences, and exploring opportunities beyond their home regions. Delivered collaboratively by The Place, Yorkshire Dance, FABRIC, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Dance City, DanceEast, South East Dance, and other national organisations, the programme helps artists navigate the challenges of touring while fostering connections and providing valuable mentorship. Through these partnerships, OUTBOUND opens doors for artists to engage with broader creative communities and strengthen their visibility on a national scale.
Established in 2021, Dance in the North is an informal network of organisations based in the North-West, Yorkshire and the North-East who are committed to programming dance and supporting the development of independent dance artists and companies.
The network currently includes Yorkshire Dance, The Civic (Barnsley), CAST (Doncaster), Cheshire Dance, Culture Warrington, Dance City, Lancaster Arts, Lowry (Salford) and Northern School of Contemporary Dance (Leeds). Working together to support the development of dance across the North of England.
The Children and Young People’s Dance Network North (CYPDNN) exists to connect artists, educators, and organisations, offering networking opportunities, coordinating professional development, and sharing dance activity across the North. By working together, we aim to ensure all children and young people have equal access to dance opportunities, regardless of where they live.
The aims of the network are:
We are also committed to supporting male-identifying participants, workforce development, and Continued Professional Development, while ensuring the voices of young people shape the work we do
Northern Colour 2024-2025 Artist: George Laing
George is from Taipei in Taiwan and trained with the New Zealand School of Dance, Canada’s National Ballet School, and I Shin Dance Studio. He previously danced with The National Ballet of Canada. He joined Northern Ballet in 2018.
George used his Northern Colour bursary to test choreographic ideas. Through a series of workshops with local contemporary dancers this led to the creation of a duet that was shared in a studio at NSCD to an invited audience. The sharing was filmed and George alonsgide the artistic consultant and the dancers were interviewed on camera. See Below links for footage. George gave feedback on Northern Colour and mentioned positive aspects of the programme as being an ideal opportunity to network beyond the ballet world. He enjoyed linking to NSCD staff and students and other local contemporary dancers. He led his first workshops with guidance from the Artistic Consultant which led to confidence building, he connected to NSCD staff and made links that would link to his future choreographic career and would encourage him to watch more contemporary dance work at The Riley Theatre/NSCD.
As part of the 2024–2025 Verve Research Commissions, artists Blue Makwana and Antonin Rioche each completed a week-long residency at NSCD, working with a company of 16 dancers under the mentorship of Verve Artistic Director Matteo Marfoglia. These residencies offered both artists a unique opportunity to test ideas, experiment collaboratively, and explore new dimensions of their choreographic practice in a supportive, process-led environment.
Blue Makwana
Blue Makwana’s residency was rooted in her diverse training and performance background, spanning Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Commercial, and Musical Theatre. Her research explored the idea of fusion—what it means, how it can function authentically within a choreographic process, and how different dance styles might coexist to form a new, embodied movement language.
Blue is particularly driven by a desire to create inclusive practices that are accessible to dancers from varied technical backgrounds. Over the week, she began shaping an approach that celebrates versatility and invites dancers to draw on their individual movement histories, forming a choreographic space where styles blend without hierarchy.
Antonin Rioche
Antonin Rioche approached his residency as an open-ended investigation into unfamiliar creative territory. With curiosity as a guiding principle, he embraced a non-linear process where each day revealed new ideas and directions. Central to his research was the collaborative construction of a large cardboard sculpture, which became a dynamic partner in the choreographic process.
This sculptural element served as both an object and a metaphor, prompting the dancers to explore connection—physical, emotional, and imaginative. Using techniques drawn from imagery, puppetry, and improvisation, Antonin crafted a series of evolving tableaux that invited rich interaction between human and object, form and feeling.
For 2024–2025, six artists and companies have been selected through an equitable nomination process:
Ashley Jordan (nominated by FABRIC): Black British choreographer and director of Ascension Dance Company, with credits including BBC, Sky Arts, and Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022.
Chisato Minamimura (The Place): Deaf choreographer and BSL art guide exploring the visualisation of sound through dance and technology.
Bakani Pick-up (Yorkshire Dance & NSCD): Choreographer and improvisation practitioner whose research-led work focuses on decolonisation and haptic visuality.
Chess Dillon Reams (South East Dance): Co-founder of The Hiccup Project, developing work exploring themes of mothering and self-care.
Glass House Dance – Sarah Lewis & Laura Anderson (DanceEast): Renowned for joyful, participatory outdoor performances combining professional and community dancers.
Jesse Salaman & Toi Guy (Dance City): Queer collaborative duo creating immersive works that combine movement, live sound, costume, and fantasy-driven performance.
OUTBOUND offers these artists space to connect nationally, share practices, and cultivate new opportunities across the UK dance ecology.
The Dance in the North Guide for Artists provides information about what each dance organisation offers for artists in the north. Read the guide here.
Northern Dance Get Together (NDGT) is for anyone working in dance, including freelance artists, dance companies and organisations, learning departments, teachers and youth leaders who are currently engaging with Children and young people or looking to increase engagement with CYP. This is an opportunity for the dance sector to come together to connect, talk, see work, take part in workshops and tackle the pressing issues of our sector and in particular in the North of England.
Topics range from; workforce development, models of good practice, decline in participation in schools and other settings, touring and getting work seen, CYP voice, male-identifying work and more.
Showcases offer an opportunity to show work, book work and discuss companies who offer work in the North of England.
Workshops are offered in both practical and discussion formats with a range of guest contributors.
Our Artist Development opportunities will be regularly updated on our website, visit: www.nscd.ac.uk/opportunities
Find out moreNSCD’s Artist Development Programme actively collaborates with other organisations to maximise opportunities for artists. Strategic partnerships with institutions across the North of England create a robust support system, ensuring sustainable careers for artists. Through these collaborations, artists can connect with event hosts, fellow creatives, and producers, enhancing their ability to showcase their work and engage with new audiences.
Artist Development is funded by NSCD as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) of Arts Council England, aligning with their ‘Let’s Create’ strategy to ensure that a diverse range of artists at any stage of their career can develop, test, share, explore or perform and sustain their creative careers.
The Artist Development Programme aligns with the priorities of Arts Council England, ensuring that the support offered is relevant and impactful within the context of their funding goals:
✔ Support people at all stages of their lives, to design, develop and increase their participations in high-quality creative activities
✔ Developing and improving pathways towards careers in the cultural sector and creative industries
✔ Improving access to a full range of cultural opportunities wherever people live, including supporting touring and other forms of distribution
✔ Working collaboratively through place-based partnerships to build skills and capacity in the cultural sector and grow its economic impact
✔ Supporting new work, new approaches to existing work, new forms of cultural content and new ways of reaching new and existing audiences and participants
✔ Collaborating with other cultural organisations and/or with the commercial creative industries and/or with further and higher education to sustain and grow existing cultural infrastructure
✔ Collaborating with other cultural organisations and/or with the commercial creative industries and/or with further and higher education to promote R&D, innovation and new skills in the development of business models
✔ Strengthening the international connections of cultural organisations and creative and cultural practitioners, including through collaboration and touring
✔ Ensuring people have opportunities to sustain their careers and fulfil their potential in the creative industries, especially those who are currently under-represented
NSCD’s Artist Development Programme provides vital support for dance artists, fostering the growth of creative practice, diversity, and sustainability in the North of England’s dance sector. Through funding from Arts Council England and strategic partnerships, the programme continues to offer a wide range of support to help artists thrive and contribute to the vibrant dance community.
