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Dance hits the Country Road

First shows to tour villages around the UK as part of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative
Panta Rei I Wish Her Well | 2 - 9 Oct
Luca Silvestrini’s Protein May Contain Food (May Contain You) | 6 -29 Oct
Lost Dog Paradise Lost (lies open beside me) | 7 - 15 Oct
Spilt Milk Say Dance/Blast from the Past | 13 Oct – 26 Nov
Joan Cleville Plan B for Utopia | 11- 12 Nov
Lila Dance Deluge | 18 &19 Nov

Last year, the Rural Touring Dance Initiative was launched to bring contemporary dance to village halls and community venues around the country. This Autumn the first cohort of shows are set to tour, having been selected from a menu of shows by local programmers, many of whom are volunteers seeking work to stage in their local communities.

The selected companies represent a variety of styles, and each show has either been designed for performance in village halls, or specially adapted from existing repertoire by the company. A programme of activities to get audiences involved has been designed by each company to accompany the shows: Lost Dog’s Ben Duke will lead discussions on creation, poetry and parenthood; Protein will invite audiences to bring local specialities to eat and share at May Contain Food – May Contain You, and Lîla Dance will recruit an extended cast from the community to be part of dance experience The Deluge.

The Rural Touring Dance Initiative is a three year scheme for making and touring dance performances to and for rural areas. Made possible by a grant from Arts Council England’s Lottery-funded Strategic Touring Programme, the initiative is led by National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF), which joined with dance institution The Place, arts charity Take Art and independent producing studio China Plate to deliver the scheme. These shows are the first to tour as part of the initiative, with companies chosen from hundreds of applications in response to a call out issued at last year’s launch. Later this year, the National Rural Dance Initiative will announce the first company it will commission to make new work especially for the rural touring circuit.

In England and Wales, 10.3 million people live in the countrysideand rural touring is a vital way of reaching communities who might not otherwise have access to the performing arts.Founded in 1997, the NRTF is a member-led organisation that works to deliver high quality art experiences that strengthen communities, providing the rural touring network with training, information and networking services as well as promoting better understanding of the rural touring network through research and advocacy.

NRTF’s Development Director Ralph Lister said, “Currently only a very small amount of dance tours to rural areas; this initiative will address issues and challenges on both the supply and demand side of the equation. More companies will be encouraged and supported to take their work out of a regular ‘black box’ setting into village halls, with all the delights and issues that brings with it. In addition it will create opportunities for many more rural touring staff and volunteer promoters to see exciting and engaging dance on a broad spectrum and to then programme and promote these shows to their local village audience.”

@rural_dance | #ruraldance | www.ruraltouring.org

Listings information

Lost Dog / 7 October / West Coker Commemoration Hall
Paradise Lost (lies / 8 October / Drimpton Village Hall
open beside me)
www.lostdogdance.co.uk / 9 October / All Saints Chuch Hall, Langport
14 October / Newton Le Willows Village Hall,
15 October / Skipton Town Hall
Joan Cleville / 11 November / Wightman Theatre Shrewsbury
Plan B for Utopia / 12 November / The Dance Centre Abergavenny
www.joanclevilledance.com
Panta Rei / 2 October / Cheriton Fitzpaine Parish Hall
I Wish Her Well
www.pantareidanseteater.com / 3 October / Helford Theatre, Truro College
4 October / Chumliegh community college
5 October / Workshops
6 October / Neuadd Dyfi, Aberdyfi,
7 October / Slaidburn Village Hal, Clitheroe
8 October / Barton, Assembly Rooms, Queen Street
9 October / St, Mary's Parish Hall,Beverley Arts Trust
Spilt Milk / 13 October / Thimblemill Library, Smethwick
Say Dance / 14 October / Erpingham with Calthorpe Village Hall, Norfolk
15 October / Walsham le Willows Memorial Village Hall,
25 November / Victoria Hall, Llanwrtyd Wells
26 November / The Dance Centre , Abergavenny
Blast From The Past / 21 October / Battle Memorial Hall
www.spiltmilkdance.co.uk / 22 October / TBC
23 October / Wingrave Community Centre
Protein / 6 October / Wadebridge Town Hall
May Contain Food - / 7 October / Grittleton Village Hall
May Contain You / 13 October / Manton Village Rutland
www.proteindance.co.uk / 14 October / Ropsley Village Hall, Lincolnshire
15 October / Wem Town Hall
16 October / Kineton Sports and Social Club, Warwickshire
28 October / Sedgeford Village Hall
29 October / Robertsbridge Village Hall
Lila Dance / 18 November / Bradworthy Primary School
Deluge / 19 November / Portreath Millennium Hall
Workshops at Portreath Primary School

www.liladance.co.uk

Notes to editors
The NRTF has identified a paucity of dance on the rural touring circuit and the development of a dance project is evident in its business plan. As a result of a fruitful relationship that has developed with The Place and a successful dance showcase at the New Directions Conference 2014, curated in partnership with China Plate, there is momentum to develop dance and rural touring - 89% of conference attenders scored the dance showcase highly or very highly. Through its members the NRTF can access a huge rural touring circuit with over 2,000 promoters. Individual rural touring schemes will play an integral role in the successful roll out of the project.

The Placehas been a driving force for contemporary dance in the UK for 45 years. The Place is unique and is comprised of; a training organisation, a producing and receiving theatre, a home for a national touring company and a hub for hundreds of independent artists. Our artist development department provides professional development, training, residencies, commissioning and producing support for dance artists at each stage of their career. Having developed a relationship with the NRTF and after attending the New Directions Conference there is an understanding, excitement and new commitment to supporting dance artists and the dance sector to engage with and take advantage of rural touring opportunities.

China Plate’s portfolio of activity encompasses developing, making and programming new work. They have worked closely with the NRTF for a number of years and curated the New Directions Showcase Festivals in 2012 and 2014 and programmed the Edinburgh Village Halls Project 2011 – 2013. They are interested in the interrogation of ideas and form and believe that rural communities should have direct access to the highest quality contemporary work. The cross over between dance and theatre is of particular interest and over the last few years China Plate has developed close links with Dance East, programming dance with them into the Pulse theatre festival and worked with Warwick Arts Centre to programme, commission and develop work with a number of choreographers including Charlotte Vincent, Tom Dale and Aakash Odedra.

Over the last 9 yearsTake Arthas hosted the Somerset county dance agency, supporting the infrastructure for the development and promotion of professional dance in Somerset. It has also run a rural touring scheme since 1987 and the services have worked and gained experience together. Take Art was the lead county dance agency in Up Close, the first south west rural touring dance project in partnership with Dance South West in 2007. The current Dance Director toured rural schemes extensively as a dancer with Pretty Good Girl Dance Theatre in 2009 and 2010. Its hands on experience of and commitment to dance and rural touring at a local level provides the partnership with a grounded perspective.

The Rural Touring Dance Initiative is a partnership projectled by The National Rural Touring Forum with The Place, China Plate and Take Art. The project is funded by Arts Council England through its Strategic Touring Fund.

Press Contact: Elin Morgan at Mobius 020 3195 6269