REFLECTING ON 2025 AT NSCD

As we look back on 2025, it’s a time to celebrate the milestones and great work that everyone connected with NSCD has collectively achieved. This year, NSCD has been busy and full of excitement, creativity and success. From local community groups and grassroots within our dance communities, to appearing on BBC Four, we have shown tenacity and growth with collaboration. 2025 has been a year of investment and focus on growing the organisation, gaining further recognition locally and globally.

Igniting Creativity: Art, Education, Transformation and Change

We opened the year with the NSCD Knowledge Exchange Conference in January, featuring keynote Helen Pheby and a programme of discussions, workshops, networking, and a celebration of diversity focused on creative pedagogy and global challenges.

The Northern Dance Get Together 2025 networking event followed, further strengthening our connections within the regional dance scene, fostering a sense of unity and growth among fellow artists.

Riley Theatre: A Hub of Creativity and Diversity

This year, the Riley Theatre – Yorkshire's largest venue dedicated to dance – hosted 45 performances in a programme that captivated audiences from NSCD talent to professional international artists. From contemporary dance to immersive theatrical experiences, we celebrated a rich tapestry of cultures and artistic voices.

Celebrating Our New Patron

We were thrilled to announce the appointment of Corinne Bailey Rae as our new NSCD Patron. Her appointment brings a fresh, cross-disciplinary perspective to our leading dance training institution, which has long been a beacon of creativity and artistic excellence.

Supporting Artist Development

We launched CoLab North with the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund, a paid artist development programme offering Northern England–based choreographers a funded nine-day lab to explore their practice with industry mentorship. The programme supported Mairead Rutter O’Connor, Xiaoyi Tong, Zoobin Surty, and Douglas Thorpe of Mad Dogs Dance Theatre.

VERVE RESIDENCIES launched in May as a funded opportunity for Global Majority artists based on the African continent to share their ongoing research with VERVE dancers through a week of practice and bespoke mentorship from Alesandra Seutin and Matteo Marfoglia. The programme supported Teresa Phuti Mojela and Latif Arafan Wa-hab Diedhiou.

Award Wins and Funding Success

We had many wins to shout about this year, including our victory at The Yorkshire Society’s Annual Awards, where we won the Arts & Entertainment Award, recognition which underscores the School's significant contribution to the arts and its prominent role in shaping the future of contemporary dance.

In August, we were thrilled to announce that after much dedicated hard work behind the scenes, we were granted full degree awarding powers by the Office for Students (OfS). This meant we enrolled our first students onto our own degrees in September 2025 – a major milestone in our 40^th anniversary year.

In October, we were awarded a grant by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of our 40^th anniversary celebrations to deliver ‘Kaleidoscope’. The funding will support a year-long programme of community events across Leeds, including Harehills and Chapeltown, where the school was first established. Supporting the preservation of local stories and heritage, as well as honouring the city’s vibrant dance history.

We also succeeded in being awarded an OfS Capital Grant and funding from The Wolfson Foundation to support upgrades to the Riley Theatre. This will strengthen our ability to stand alongside other leading theatres while investing in vital improvements that allow us to nurture and showcase world-class talent at NSCD and beyond.

Supporting Artist Development

In November, we opened Dance Passion Bradford, a full-length primetime dance programme commissioned by BBC Arts featuring 11 students from our BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance Performance course. The programme was broadcast live on national TV on the 9th November and showcased the diversity, creativity, and talent within the UK dance sector to celebrate the city and the joy of dance, during Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. 

Celebrating Graduate Success

We are incredibly proud of our alum, whose achievements continue to inspire us all. From leading companies to choreographing world-class productions, our former students are making waves across the dance industry. Their success is a testament to the strength of our training and the nurturing environment we strive to provide.

• Skyie Nataliah and Ella Roberts, who graduated from our BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance Performance course, were 2 of 8 dancers selected to join award-winning company, Shechter II, out of over 1,200 dancers who auditioned for a place.
• Alum Silva Rawnsley toured Europe as part of The Herds for The Walk Productions, a groundbreaking public art and climate initiative designed to inspire action and renew our bond with the natural world
• Four NSCD graduates - Gavin Coward, Imogen Wright, Alex Gosmore and Mayowa Ogunnaike performed in the national tour of DETENTION – the eagerly-anticipated, forthcoming production from Gary Clarke Company.
• Lucia Taylor, who graduated from VERVE 25, joined Company Chameleon as an Apprentice Company Dancer one month after graduating from NSCD.
• Nearly 1,200 inspirational people from across the UK have been recognised in the King's New Year Honours list for 2026, including NSCD graduate Balbir Singh, Artistic Director of Balbir Singh Dance Company, for services to dance. The list, released annually ahead of the new year, celebrates individuals from across the UK and beyond, recognising their outstanding achievements and the contributions they have made to society.

Making Dance Accessible to All

We believe that dance should be inclusive, and we are proud to create an environment where all students can thrive, no matter their background or ability. This year, our Learning & Participation and Access programmes reached new communities, using dance workshops in schools and community projects to make the arts more accessible while inspiring creativity, movement, and empowerment.

• We worked with over 14,000 students across different schools and community venues, delivering 6 school visits, 25 events and 850 workshops.
• The CAT scheme continues to train 83 students, with 13 graduating this year and 8 going on to pursue vocational dance training. The National CAT Scheme was also recently shortlisted for the One Dance UK Changemaker Award.
• We launched the NSCD+ Bursary Programme, proudly supported by The Leverhulme Trust, providing a vital pathway for talented young dancers facing financial barriers by offering access to exceptional training through a structured three-level developmental journey, with up to 32 bursaries available.
• In November, we became part of the Access Ballet Collective as a commitment to exploring how we can make ballet more accessible and equitable and share best practices with our industry connections to help centre the voices and needs of disabled people in ballet.
• We launched a three-day inclusive dance intensive with Stopgap, helping disabled dancers aged 16–25 develop skills, creativity, and confidence through movement and collaboration. Register for 2026 here.
• NSCD joined four other leading dance specialist schools in the Boys Dance Too partnership, committing to deliver workshops across the UK for male-identifying and non-binary dancers, helping to support next steps in the dance world. Secure your free place here.
• Our Accessibility and Participation Plan was approved by the Office for Students, which sets out our strategy and activity commitments for improving equality of opportunity for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Strengthening Global Partnerships

Our partnership with George Mason University’s School of Dance (GMU) in the USA continued to grow with 6 NSCD undergraduate students visiting for an in-person international exchange. The NSCD students were fully immersed in the dance programme at GMU, and experienced other opportunities to see arts performances and visit cultural sites in the nation's capital.

Looking Ahead

Going into 2026, our 40th anniversary celebrations continue. We are deeply grateful to our students, staff, collaborators, and supporters for making this year a remarkable chapter in our school’s story. Together, we’ve celebrated achievements, broken barriers, and nurtured a truly unique community – and with exciting initiatives, collaborations, and performances ahead, we look forward to what 2027 will bring.