Over the last year Yorkshire Dance has contributed to two networks funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Five new networks were created from AHRC Dance Research Matters Network funding including Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network (FE:PDN) and South Asian Dance Equity (SADE). The programme’s aims include raising the profile of dance as an academic research area, promoting the diversity of dance cultures and connecting disciplines to enable further collaborations. 

Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network (FE:PDN) 

The Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network was created to bring together academics and arts professionals to reimagine an inclusive, extended and sustainable ecosystem for dance. The network aimed to enable dialogue and exchange as dance organisations navigate challenges including Brexit, COVID-19, climate change and a lack of diversity in the sector.  

Yorkshire Dance hosted the first meetings of the network in November 2023 including an open forum for freelance dance artists and a forum for the industry. Watch a short film about the meeting below:  

Yorkshire Dance staff chronicled the work of the network. João Maio, our Artist Development Producer, wrote a reflection on the open forums for independent dance artists, dance organisations, academics and producers held at Yorkshire Dance. The post looks at the dance sector as an ecosystem and highlights the inter-dependencies within it, particularly highlighting how the decline of funding and provision of the arts in education is impacting the lived experience of dance artists.  

“During the Open Forums at Yorkshire Dance, it was clear how the on-going reduction of arts funding and funding for arts subjects and courses within the Education Sector impact the wider sector, particularly artists who rely heavily on arts funding and income from working in Education settings to have enough financial ‘sustainability’ to enable them to continue to develop their artistic work.” – João Maio, Artist Development Producer 

Read João’s reflection here.

Yorkshire Dance’s Creative Director, Hannah Robertshaw, also discussed the ‘dance ecosystem’, highlighting the interconnectedness of roles within the dance sector and how many in the network held multiple roles as part of their practice.   

“Whilst the ecosystem can feel vast, I also think it’s useful to recognise that we are a relatively small sector. The mere fact that we hold so many intersecting relationships is perhaps evidence of this. The result can be that a negative impact in one area of the ecosystem can be felt across the whole.” – Hannah Robertshaw, Creative Director 

Read Hannah’s piece here.

“Yorkshire Dance’s involvement in the FE:PDN demonstrates our role as a nationally significant dance organisation. As investment in the dance sector continues to be challenging, it’s important that networks like this help us consider the future of dance producing, supported with a backing in academic research” – Hannah Robertshaw, Creative Director. 

South Asian Dance Equity (SADE) 

The South Asian Dance Equity network aims to look at the areas of arts that British South Asian Dance currently ignores by examining systematic inequities within five key minority areas: the dominance of Indian/Hindu dance forms and artists; LGBTQI+ artists; caste-oppressed artists; disabled artists; and folk and Adivasi (indigenous) arts and artists. 

Balbir Singh Dance Company hosted network event ‘South Asian Dance and Ableism’ at Yorkshire Dance in November 2024. Creative Director Hannah Robertshaw co-hosted this workshop alongside Prarthana Purkayastha and Balbir Singh. The event began with identifying factors within ableism and how these issues manifest in South Asian dance. Participants then reflected on how dance can foster healing and inclusivity for disabled artists and discussed practical ways to develop more accessible practices in the South Asian dance sector. 

Read more about the workshop in this photo essay.

Hannah also attended the SADE conference at the University of London and The Place Theatre, London.  

“The SADE conference was a fantastic opportunity to broaden our knowledge and deepen our understanding of South Asian dance. Speaking to such a diverse range of artists, enabled us to consider new artistic possibilities. I hope we can continue these conversations and think about ways in which we can evolve our support for this work at Yorkshire Dance.” – Hannah Robertshaw, Creative Director 

Looking forward 

The AHRC’s Dance Research Matters Network funding ended in March and although the future of these networks is unclear the commitment from partners is strong. Contributing to the research base for dance remains a priority for Yorkshire Dance and we intend to utilise our position as a regional and national sector leader to influence greater partnership and investment in dance.

Image: Elia Tomé