MOVING BEYOND THEATRES

Image by Josh Negura

Dance is too often confined to traditional venues. Growing up in Cornwall, it was challenging to access dance due to limited transportation options to venues, ticket prices and a lack of artists touring in the South West at the time. As an artist now, this makes me consider how I reach people who aren’t attending theatres.

While some theatres are working to remove barriers to these spaces through various access schemes, there are still a considerable amount of people left out: who feels invited into these spaces? Are theatres actively reaching beyond their existing audiences? And if dance is only made for those who already attend theatres, how can programming be representative of a wider community?

I’m excited by site-specific dance as it challenges these limitations by bringing work directly to people - expanding its reach to wider audiences and offering more immediate and interactive experiences.

These works disrupt the everyday - transforming familiar environments into spaces of artistic encounter and often inviting audiences into a world they may not have actively sought out. Public dance performances, especially those co-created with local communities, can support audiences in further developing a sense of ownership in the work and thereby a deeper level of participation.

By expanding the spaces where dance exists, we open new doors for creative expression beyond the confines of the theatre. When audiences don’t come to theatres, it’s our responsibility, as dance makers, to bring dance to them.