Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD), VERVE RESIDENCIES is a funded opportunity for artists from the Global Majority based in the African continent, of any movement background, to share their on-going research with VERVE dancers. VERVE is the international touring company of NSCD.
These commissions support artists in building a relationship with NSCD through a week of research and practice sharing with VERVE, bookended by bespoke support from Alesandra Seutin (VERVE RESIDENCIES Artistic Mentor & Professional Artist) and Matteo Marfoglia (VERVE Artistic Director & Course Leader).
The residences will take place in November 2025 and again in Spring 2026 and aim to support artists with studio space here at the School, working with VERVE to share an established research practice and to give the dancers creative experience through new work, ideas, or directions.
Artists will have the opportunity to connect to other areas of NSCD beyond VERVE, including connecting to Northern Colour alumni and other Northern England based artists from the Global Majority through seminars, workshops, discussions and gatherings; these activities are an opportunity to discuss each other's creative work and learn from multiple perspectives and different experiences.
Sharon Watson MBE DL and CEO and Principal of NSCD comments:
“Northern School of Contemporary Dance is delighted to offer a paid partnership via VERVE RESIDENCIES to Global Majority African applicants. We believe in opening the arts to as many people as possible within a diverse arena, particularly within the African continent. We hope to provide these opportunities to allow successful artists to build a creative voice in Leeds and beyond.”
Alesandra Seutin, VERVE RESIDENCIES Artistic Mentor
“What excites me most about being an Artistic Mentor for the VERVE RESIDENCIES is the opportunity to support a new generation of dance artists in carving out bold, authentic pathways for their creative voices. I’m particularly inspired by the residency’s focus on research and risk-taking, as it aligns with my own practice of using movement as a tool for storytelling and social commentary. I look forward to engaging in deep artistic exchange, offering guidance rooted in lived experience, and being challenged by fresh perspectives that push the boundaries of performance.”
We welcome applications only from artists from the Global Majority based in the African Continent and the VERVE RESIDENCES will take place in Leeds, England.
VERVE RESIDENCIES is a funded research commission developed by Northern School of Contemporary Dance’s (NSCD) Northern Colour Artist Development Programme and in collaboration with Alessandra Seutin. The programme will be supported by the Arts Council England.
Alesandra Seutin is an award-winning multidisciplinary performance artist, choreographer, and director whose focus is exploring movement as a foundation for theatre, media and site-specific works.
She trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Middlesex University in London, later studying the Acogny technique in Senegal under Germaine Acogny. She is now a worldwide ambassador and teacher of the technique.
In 2007, she founded her company, Alesandra Seutin (formerly Vocab Dance), which has developed a diverse repertoire of over eleven productions and earned a reputation for high-quality and poetic performances. Her work explores identity, power, and place through dance, music, and spoken words.
From 2019 to 2021, she was Guest Artistic Director of the UK’s National Youth Dance Company, and from 2020 to 2024, Co-Artistic Director of École des Sables in Senegal. She has received more than 20 choreographic commissions, including from Sadler’s Wells, KVS, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Merce Cunningham Company, and Channel 4.
Alesandra is a face of KVS in Brussels and has been an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells since March 2024. In 2023, she was awarded the Golden Afro Artistic Award for Dance & Choreography in Belgium.
Applications for VERVE Residences 2025/26 are now open and close on Friday 20 June 2025.
For more information and to apply, visit the application call out here
