Dance In The North Co-Commission | Artist Opportunity

Opportunity Dance in the North Co-commission

Dance In The North Co-Commission 2026-27

Deadline: Monday 2 March 2026, 10.00am

We are seeking applications from dance artists or companies based in the North.

About Dance In The North Co-Commission 2026-27

Dance in the North is a consortium of dance organisations and venues who are committed to working together to enhance artist development, artist support and dance programming in the North of England.

This new co-commission will support the development of a new dance performance that will include public work-in-progress showings at scratch nights throughout 2026-27.

The successful artist/company will work with Dance in the North partners to explore presentation opportunities once the work is fully produced.

This pilot scheme offers a £12,500 co-commission supported by Yorkshire Dance, Cheshire Dance, Lancaster Arts, Dance City, Lowry. The wider Dance in the North partnership will support the successful artist/company with advocacy and relationship development.

The artists or company selected for the Dance in the North Co-Commission will benefit from:

£12,500 commissioning fee
Scratch Night performance opportunities in Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds (additional presentation fees available)
Research and rehearsal residencies (available at Yorkshire Dance, Dance City, Bradford Arts Centre, Lowry)
Technical residency space (available at Lancaster Arts and Dance City)
Advice and support on environmental sustainability
Advice and support on access and inclusion
Mentoring and dramaturgy
Advice and support with tour-booking
Fundraising and producing support

Eligible artist/companies must

Have a proven track record in creating dance performance
Have a proven track record of successfully managing your own funded projects
Live and work in the North of England

Who is not eligible?

Artist/Companies who receive regular sustained funding as part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio
Artist/Companies whose main art form is not dance
Artist/Companies who do not live or work in the North of England
Artist/Companies who are proposing work which is already developed and has been presented (but work that has already undergone early-stage Research and Development is eligible).

What we are looking for

Proposals are selected by a panel through an open call process which takes into account:

The originality & strength of the artistic idea
The artist/company’s track record
How feasible and realistic the proposed project is within the scope of the commission
A strong commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.

Timeline

The deadline for applications is 10.00am on Monday 2 March 2026. Partners will contact shortlisted artists/companies by 27 March.

Initial conversations with shortlisted artists/companies will take place between 20 April and 8 May 2026. Selected artist/company will be announced in May 2026.

The project will run from June 2026 to March 2028.

How to apply

Please complete and submit the form below before 10.00am on 2 March 2026 (note this form cannot be saved so you may wish to draft your answers first before copying these into the form).

You can also film or audio record yourself answering these questions. To submit your application as a video please send a file via We Transfer, Google Drive or Dropbox to tammytsang@yorkshiredance.com

If you have a question about the co-commission and would like to speak to a member of the team, please email João Maio, Artist Development Producer at Yorkshire Dance, on joaomaio@yorkshiredance.com or call us on 0113 243 8765.