Riley Theatre: Reach - Northern School of Contemporary Dance
 

Bringing Dance Beyond the Theatre

Riley Theatre: Reach takes dance beyond our Leeds venue through a programme connecting with schools, libraries, and community spaces across the North of England. Through touring performances, research & development (R&D) projects, and wraparound activities such as workshops and Q&As, Riley Theatre: Reach expands access to high-quality dance experiences.

By partnering with strategic networks, including rural touring schemes, local authorities, libraries, and other dance organisations, Riley Theatre: Reach ensures that diverse audiences can engage with professional dance performances in spaces that are familiar and accessible to them.

What We Do

  • Touring performances – Bringing professional dance to non-traditional venues, with a strong focus on children, young people, and families.
  • Collaborations with strategic partners – Developing performance opportunities with organisations that share our vision for accessible, high-quality dance.
  • Artist development – Supporting multi-stage creative processes, from R&D to performance, to strengthen the touring landscape in the North.
  • Workshops & participation – Enhancing audience engagement through educational workshops, Q&As, and interactive experiences.

What’s On

The Quest for Planet P
Follow Ozmo & Orbi, two brave little aliens, as they set off on an amazing journey to find the perfect planet!

A brand new rural touring show for Under 11’s and their families.

Find out more: www.knottedhawk.co.uk/the-quest-for-planet-p

The Greatest Robot Ever 
Glitch the little Robot doesn’t feel special like all the other amazing Robots living in the Junk Yard. With the help of their best friend, Shift, they go on a quest to find the pieces to make them stand out! Full of fun, adventure and self discovery; Will Glitch find what they were searching for all along?

A magical, interactive, dance-theatre show for children 3-8 years and their grownups.

Find out more: www.theknottedproject.co.uk/the-greatest-robot-ever


Coming soon 

Mika and The Polar Bear
Mika and the polar bear will be a heart warming, original story, created with and for children aged 4-11 years old and their families. This 1 hour show, is a joyful story of hope and friendship, full of twists, turns and fantastic interactive experiences, that reminds us how important love, connection and compassion is in a tumultuous world.

Find out more: www.coalescedancetheatre.com/mikaandthepolarbear


Want to know more about past Riley Theatre: Reach programmes? Visit: www.nscd.ac.uk/cypdnn

Get Involved

Are you a venue, school, or community organisation interested in hosting a Reach performance? Or an artist or company looking to collaborate? We’d love to hear from you!

Contact us to explore partnership opportunities and bring dance to new audiences across the North.

Kirk Worley
Programming, Events & Front of House Manager
Kirk.Worley@nscd.ac.uk

Gail Ferrin
Strategic Relationship Manager: NPO and CYPDNN
Gail.Ferrin@nscd.ac.uk

Our Funding

Riley Theatre: Reach is funded by NSCD as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) of Arts Council England, aligning with their ‘Let’s Create’ strategy to to ensure that children and young people and their families access dance performances and contribute through the inclusion of their CYP voice leading to performances in their area in schools, halls, hubs, libraries and pop-up venues across the North of England.

Aligning with Arts Council Priorities

Riley Theatre: Reach aligns with the priorities of Arts Council England, ensuring that the support offered is relevant and impactful within the context of their funding goals:

Creative People

Support people at all stages of their lives, to design, develop and increase their participations in high-quality creative activities
Helping to promote and signpost to creative opportunities in the local community to people at all stages of their lives
Providing high-quality early years activities that reach families from a wider range of backgrounds
Widening and improving opportunities for children and young people to take part in creative activities inside schools
Widening and improving opportunities for children and young people to take part in creative activities outside school
Developing and improving pathways towards careers in the cultural sector and creative industries

Cultural Communities

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 support and involve communities in high-quality culture

Creative & Cultural Country

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
Ensuring people have opportunities to sustain their careers and fulfil their potential in the creative industries, especially those who are currently under-represented