Welcome
On behalf of Dance Consortium members, I am delighted to welcome you to Dragons by the iconic South Korean choreographer, Eun-Me Ahn. Although Eun-Me’s work has been showcased globally over the past 40 years, this is the first time her company is touring the UK, and we feel hugely privileged to share her work with audiences across the country.
I first saw Dragons alongside representatives from our member venues in France in 2022, and we were captivated by the vibrancy, vivid colours and stunning design of the show. These elements, alongside the energy and technical prowess of the dancers, was just captivating, and the inclusion of virtual dancers on stage was something that we hadn’t experienced in this way before. We felt that audiences around the UK deserved to see this piece of work and to be immersed in South Korean art, technology and dance.
As with many Asian countries, the symbol of the dragon forms part of South Korea’s cultural identity. Contrary to the depictions of fire and destruction, dragons represent water and agriculture as well as having other connotations around feelings of joy and optimism. Eun-Me explores their various meanings through a kaleidoscope of colourful costumes, holographic imagery and stunning choreography – can you spot all the dragon references in the show?
During the global pandemic, Eun-Me took the opportunity to work remotely with six additional dancers from across Asia who were all born in 2000 – the Year of the Dragon. These digital dancers are seamlessly integrated into the show alongside Eun-Me’s own company of dancers, making this a truly international performance.
As with previous companies and artists we have toured, the ethos behind Eun-Me’s work strongly aligns with that of Dance Consortium - we strive to present the best international dance and give people around the country more opportunities to be inspired by, engage with and participate in dance activities. These performances are supported by a range of engagement opportunities including workshops, open rehearsals and talks with
the artistic director and company members, which aim to deepen the connections our audiences have with international dance. We are hugely grateful to the company for providing these different ways to engage with them, especially on top of the brilliant performances you see on stage. Their hard work and commitment is really appreciated.
Dance Consortium is committed to supporting the wider dance and touring ecology through extended engagement opportunities and projects, including through our successful Future Leaders Programme. This gives young people an opportunity to visit and explore behind the scenes of our member venues, giving them a real insight and understanding of what it’s like to work in a theatre and tour international dance. We also provide placement opportunities to students such as those from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), two of which will join us for a week as part of this tour and get an insight into life on the road.
As always, thanks to our member venues for their ongoing commitment to presenting international work of the highest quality and for helping to bring the most exciting dance companies from the world stage to audiences around the UK and Ireland. We have some fantastic tours planned over the next couple of years and we will be bringing the very best companies from all over the world to share our stages in the UK. This includes return visits from Ballet BC (Vancouver) and Cirque Éloize (Montreal) later this year, and then a first tour from multi award-winning Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan in 2026.
So, tell your friends and families, book early to avoid disappointment and we look forward to seeing you at another Dance Consortium show in the future.
Until then, sit back and enjoy the performance!
Joe Bates, Chief Executive, Dance Consortium
Dance Consortium Presents DRAGONS Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company
Dragons, by celebrated South Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn, is a joyful riot of dance, music and non-stop movement that brings together modern and traditional dance styles from across Asia.
Whilst dragons are feared in the West, in Asia, they represent lightness, joy and optimism.
Eun-Me Ahn’s kaleidoscopic production introduces six young guest performers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan. All born in the year 2000, they appear as holograms, sharing their hopes and fresh perspectives on how past and future can coexist. They interact on the stage with Eun-Me Ahn and her company of seven South Korean performers with vivid and colourful projections bringing forests and clouded skies to life, powered by an evocative soundtrack seamlessly blending contemporary pop with a traditional score.
Eun-Me Ahn is one of the most important artists in South Korea. Her dance company has performed at
11 major international festivals, including the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea. Dragons sees her connecting with Asia’s next generation of talent.
‘Visually thrilling’
Culture Whisper
‘A riot of colour and a real feast for the senses’
Seeing Dance
‘A dazzling example of how talent, technology and not a little craziness can be meshed together into a thrilling whole’
Broadway World
‘Dragons is an impressive blend of East and West’
The Reviews Hub
Post show Q&A on opening nights (free for ticket holders)
Running time: 75 minutes, no interval Age guide: 8+
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Cover photo by Sukmu Yun
Photo by Sukmu Yun
Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company
Company
Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company
Founder & Artistic Director: Eun-Me Ahn
Producer: Jean-Marie Chabot; Gadja Productions
Dragons
Artistic Director & Choreographer: Eun-Me Ahn
Composer & Music Director: Young-Gyu Jang
Lighting Design: Jinyoung Jang
Video Direction: Taeseok Lee
Motion Design: Taeseok Lee, Minjeong Lee (Addnine)
Costume & Scenography Design: Eun-Me Ahn
Technical Direction Creation: Jimyung Kim
Performers
Eun-Me Ahn
Gaon Han
Deokyeong Kim
Hyekyoung Kim
Seyeon Kim
Doohee Lee
Hyeonseo Lee
Yongsik Moon
Performers On Screen
Akari Takahashi (Japan)
Dwi Nusa Aji Winarno (Indonesia)
Jiwan Jung (South Korea)
Nur Syahidah Binti Hazmi (Malaysia)
Siko Setyanto (Indonesia)
Zhou Guanting (Taiwan)
Technical (Touring team)
Production Manager & Sound: Alex Pluchino
Lighting Technician: Marc Perez
Stage Manager: Lalita Savarit
Video Technician: Jeronimo Roe
On tour with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE)
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Eun-Me Ahn
Artistic Director
A leading figure in the Korean performing arts scene, Eun-Me Ahn was born in 1963. Captivated by traditional dance and shamanistic practices, she studied contemporary dance at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. In 1988, she founded the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company before moving to New York in 1991 to study at the Tisch School of the Arts. In 2001, she returned to Korea as Artistic Director of the Daegu City Dance Company, overseeing 45 dancers, where she created notable works such as The Little Match Girl and Skypepper.
She has continued to develop her choreographic and performance practice, revisiting Korean classics (Princess Bari, Chunhyang) and exploring social themes. Her work has engaged with non-professional older adults (Dancing Grandmothers, Dancing Teenteen, Dancing Middle-Aged Men) and individuals with disabilities, through Ahnsim Dance and Daeshim Dance.
With a repertoire exceeding 150 pieces, Eun-Me Ahn has cultivated a distinctive artistic language defined by her trademark vibrancy, positivity, and bold use of colour. She has earned international acclaim with iconic productions such as Symphoca Princess Bari, Let Me Change Your Name, Dancing Grandmothers, and North Korea Dance, which have been performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages.
In addition to her choreographic achievements, Ahn has expanded her artistic practice into the realms of installation and sculpture, exploring the interplay of movement and spatial language. Her solo exhibition Known Future (2019) at the Seoul Museum of Art and the face-to face encounter project: Pinky Pinky Good (2024) for Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo during the Venice Biennale exemplify this innovative approach, where the body’s language is transformed into dynamic spatial expressions.
Starting with Dragons, Ahn is broadening her artistic journey to explore the cultural and artistic narratives of the broader Asian continent, further enriching her ever-evolving body of work.
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Photo by Ok Sanghoon
Photo by Sukmu Yun and Jiyang Kim
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Young-gyu Jang
Composer
& Music Director
Born in Seoul in 1968, Young-gyu Jang began his musical journey through band activities and has since established himself as a composer and music director across a wide range of fields, including film, theatre, drama, dance, and visual art.
A pivotal moment in his career came in 1992 when he composed the score for choreographer Eun-Me Ahn’s dance production Ariral Allariyo. This project marked the beginning of his path as a professional musician, setting the stage for his future endeavors.
Jang entered the world of film music in 2000 with The Foul King. Since then, he has composed scores for numerous acclaimed films, including The Thieves, Assassination, Jeon Woo-chi, Tazza, The Wailing, Train to Busan, Next Sohee, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, A Bittersweet Life, and Alienoid. His work has been praised for its ability to enhance storytelling with compelling and immersive musical narratives.
In addition to his work in film and performance art, Jang is an active member of experimental bands such as UhUhBoo Project, Be-Being, SsingSsing, and LEENALCHI. Through these ventures, he continues to break boundaries between genres, creating a distinctive musical identity that bridges tradition and modernity.
Taeseok Lee Video Artist & Film Director
Born in Seoul in 1982, Tae-seok Lee is a video artist and film director. He studied contemporary art at university and has developed a diverse body of work using video as his primary medium. Lee has collaborated with artists across various disciplines, including dance, theatre, music, and multidisciplinary arts, creating video projections for performance stages.
His collaboration with the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company began in 2011 with Dancing for the Ancestors and has since extended to numerous productions such as Uncommitted Dance, Sincere Dance, I Am Twenty, Eun-Me Go On, and Dragons, where he has contributed his expertise in video production.
Lee has been an artist-in-residence at institutions such as the Geumcheon Art Factory (Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture), Gyeonggi Creation Center (Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation), and Akiyoshidai International Artist Village in Japan. He has also received support from the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, and Incheon Cultural Foundation.
His works have been invited to various film festivals across Korea, including Indie Forum, KT&G Short Film Festival, Daegu Independent Film Festival, Incheon Independent Film Festival, and Jeju Independent Film Festival, showcasing his unique artistic vision.
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Gaon Han Performer
Born in South Korea, Gaon Han began his journey in contemporary dance at Peniel Arts High School in 2014. He continued his studies at Sejong University, one of Seoul’s prestigious arts institutions, where he graduated with a degree in dance.
Han launched his professional career with the Tatmaroo Dance Company, gaining valuable experience while collaborating with various choreographers. His work reflects a commitment to artistic exploration and dynamic expression.
In 2023, Han joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, where he contributes his refined technique and creative energy to the company’s innovative performances, further establishing himself as a rising talent in contemporary dance.
Deokyeong Kim Performer
Born in South Korea, Deokyeong Kim began his formal dance training in contemporary dance at Peniel High School of Arts in 2013. He went on to study contemporary dance at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, where he further honed his craft and graduated with a degree in the field.
Since completing his studies, Kim has built a career as a freelance performer in Seoul, participating in a wide range of productions that showcase his versatility and dedication to contemporary dance. In 2022, he joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, where he continues to contribute his talent and creativity to the company’s renowned and boundary-pushing works.
Hyekyoung Kim Performer
Hyekyoung Kim discovered her passion for dance as a member of her high school dance club, where she fell in love with movement. She went on to study modern dance and Korean traditional dance, earning her degree in modern dance from Sungkyunkwan University in 2008. That same year, she joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, marking the start of a dynamic and versatile career.
Her interest in international collaboration was sparked during a workshop with Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin in 2008. This led to further opportunities, including working with the Royal Opera House’s ROH2 in 2011, performing with Switzerland’s Cie Linga from 2009 to 2018, and participating in auditions and research programmes with Belgium’s Ultima Vez in 2011. She also maintained ongoing collaborations with Gilles Jobin, broadening her artistic perspective through these global engagements.
For the past 15 years, Kim has been a key member of the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, contributing to group projects and workshops while moving between Korea and Switzerland. Since 2012, she has expanded her artistic practice by choreographing and directing her own projects, showcasing her creative vision alongside her commitment to collaborative performance.
Seyeon Kim Performer
Seyeon Kim, a contemporary dancer from South Korea, was born in Busan and raised in Yangsan. Her passion for dance began at an early age, leading her to formal training at a private academy. There, she majored in contemporary dance while also studying ballet and Korean traditional dance as minors, laying the foundation for her versatile artistry.
After graduating from the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD), Kim further refined her skills and broadened her artistic scope. During her time in Europe, she collaborated with various choreographers, engaging in diverse projects that deepened her understanding of contemporary movement and performance. Returning to Korea, she pursued a career as a freelance dancer, continuing to explore her creative potential.
In 2024, Kim joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, where she brings her international experience and multifaceted talents to the company’s innovative productions, furthering her journey as an accomplished contemporary performer.
Doohee Lee Performer
Doohee Lee, born in Gunsan, South Korea, in 1996, discovered his passion for dance through a chance encounter. During a two-year stay in Brazil as a child, he was captivated by Samba, which sparked his interest and led him to begin dancing. In 2013, he was introduced to modern dance, a serendipitous moment that has shaped his career ever since.
In 2015, Lee pursued his professional dance education at Kookmin University in Korea, where he refined his skills and expanded his artistic horizons. His journey continued with the Duaco Dance Company, which provided him with opportunities to explore diverse approaches to movement and broaden his understanding of the arts. In 2019, he advanced to the graduate programme at Kookmin University and is currently completing his studies.
As a performer, Lee embraces versatility, integrating elements of popular movements with modern dance to create a genre-fluid approach to his work. In 2024, he joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, where he collaborates with Eun-Me Ahn and contributes his dynamic and experimental artistry to the company’s innovative productions.
Hyeonseo Lee Performer
Hyeonseo Lee, a dancer from South Korea, discovered her love for dance at a young age, enjoying the thrill of performing in front of others. Her journey began during middle school when she encountered traditional Korean dance at a local dance academy. Enchanted by its refined and graceful movements, she decided to dedicate herself to a career in dance.
Lee built a strong foundation through professional training at Gyeongbuk Arts High School and furthered her education by majoring in Korean dance at Kyung Hee University. Her academic and artistic pursuits have instilled in her a deep appreciation for her cultural roots while fostering a desire to push artistic boundaries.
After graduating, she embarked on a broader exploration of the dance world, joining the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company. Here, Lee continues to bring her talent and passion to the stage, contributing to the creation of diverse and captivating performances that blend tradition with contemporary innovation.
Yongsik Moon Performer
Born in South Korea, Yongsik Moon began his formal training in contemporary dance at Peniel Arts High School in 2009. He later graduated from Chung-Ang University, one of Seoul’s most esteemed institutions for the arts. Over the past 11 years, he has been based in Seoul, working as a freelancer across diverse artistic disciplines. His career spans contemporary dance performances, musicals, and operas, where he has contributed as both a dancer and ensemble member. Alongside his performance work, he has also gained experience as an instructor, lecturing at an arts high school for three years.
In 2022, Moon joined the Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company, where he continues to refine his artistry, bringing his multifaceted expertise to the company’s bold and innovative productions.
Performer headshots by Sukmu Yun and Jiyang Kim
by
Photo
Sukmu Yun
Demography’s choreography
Sanjoy Roy
You don’t see Eun-Me Ahn without also noticing her. She is simply too eye-catching, kitted out in bold, bright and often clashing colours and patterns, swathed in tunics and petticoats and fabric wraps, some high headwear perhaps perched atop her buzzcut hair (she shaved her head in 1991, and has never looked back). Of course it’s not just a look, it also signals a certain mindset: punkish, outside-the-box, a bit do-it-yourself, happily matching and mismatching the new with the old, tradition with rebellion, the commercial with the experimental – and serving it all up in saturated, often synthetic colours.
Now 61, Ahn is clearly neither fading into the graceful retirement that too many older people find expected of them, and nor is she getting any younger. It is perhaps this sense of living through and alongside changing generations that underlies one particular strand of her work over the last 15 years. Dragons, created in 2021,
is the latest of these “generational” pieces, conceived with a very specific cohort in mind: dance students born in 2000 (the year of the dragon), thereby part of the very first generation of the new millennium. But go back to 2010, and Ahn had already begun thinking of a particular age group for the creation of her piece
Dancing Grandmothers
The stimulus had come from watching her own mother dancing at home. She decided to go on a field trip through Korea, meeting up with older, ordinary women, aged 60 to 90, who agreed to dance for her and also told stories from their lives. For Ahn, their improvised sidesteps, waves, skips and twirls became more than just movements, more even than expressions of individual personality or cultural style. They became a body of history – the living, breathing traces of whole histories, more vivid and vital in dance than in any recounted tale or recorded story.
Photo by Sukmu Yun
The dancers of Ahn’s company – professionally trained and decidedly younger – improvised in response to the movements of these older women. Together, the older dances and the younger responses became the choreographic raw material for Dancing Grandmothers which premiered in 2011. Its central section featured an edited film montage of the women’s dances, recorded in homes, streets, parks, shops, fields or forests. Wrapping this kernel were choreographic stagings in which younger and older dancers perform both separately and together, merging and crossing, joining and dispersing. It all ended with giant disco balls and an open invitation for the audience to join the upbeat dancing on stage. It was full of energy and vitality – and of course colour, lots of colour.
The piece was quite a hit, touring internationally and revived several times over the years. Its immediate impact not only on the audience but on the lives of the older women spurred Ahn towards two other projects, following a similar process. For Dancing Teen Teen, created the following year, her fieldwork was
in schools, where she and her dancers would meet and chat with teenagers during their lunch breaks, and offer creative and improvisational workshops. Again, the teenagers featured in a film montage, and the dancers used their youthful bops and shimmies as a stimulus for choreography that Ahn then shaped into a show. Dancing Teen Teen naturally reflected and refracted the teen spirit that powered it, showing strong influences from music video, mixing hip-hop with K-pop, and touching on questions of style and conformity (there were a lot of blond wigs), innocence and discovery – and again ending with an upbeat party. Costumes and colours were eye-scorching.
A year later, Ahn created the last of this trilogy: Dancing Middle-Aged Men. Her demographic group was men between 40 and 60 years old, and again she captured their dances – dad-dancing, and more – on film for the show. Here, the movement material gave visions onto the world of work and family, the sense of men playing parts in a bigger, sometimes more corporate system. But it was anything but sober. The
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
suits and ties were snazzy and bright, there was much play with water sprays and sprinklers (the audience were given plastic ponchos for protection), and the company dancers transformed middle-aged moves into acrobatic dives and tumbles. There was also a party.
The Dancing… trilogy ended there, but not Ahn’s interest in working with non-professionals. Ahnsim Dance (2016) worked with visually impaired people, Daeshim Dance (2017) with people with dwarfism. In Koshigi Monologue (2019) she spoke to older women about their memories of early sexual encounters and their first years of married life. If all these works sound somewhat ethnographic in approach, Ahn acts as a kind of theatrical shaman (she studied shamanic traditions in her formative years), channelling spirit into flesh and transforming the commonplace into the communal ritual that we call performance. Indeed, she often appears in certain scenes of her own pieces, an outlandish, outré figure who wanders through her choreography like a psychic medium.
Ahn appears in Dragons too, a piece that picks up the generational thread of her Dancing… trilogy and sends it to a far wider geographical reach: the young people with whom she began the project were not just Korean but from across east and southeast Asia. Furthermore, as dance students and graduates they were if not yet professional, then certainly highly trained. The idea was to tap something of the zeitgeist for this generation, and one entirely unforeseen but era-defining event certainly hit that spot: the Covid pandemic, which struck just after the auditions had been completed. The dancers – based in Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea – were left geographically isolated, and the rehearsals ended up being conducted first by video link and then, as travel restrictions eased, with itinerant technicians and holographic cameras. In both the world at large and in Ahn’s Dragons, pandemic pivoted our lives towards video communications and digital media, boosting virtual connectivity while dematerialising real ones, and fuelling fantasies in a world that remained, nevertheless, obdurately real.
That is a legacy we live with still. Characteristically, Ahn’s choreography for Dragons remains as upbeat and offbeat, and ultimately as bright as she is herself. She points out that while in the West dragons are seen as feared, dangerous beasts, in much of east Asia they are more auspicious, more shape-shifting and mercurial. The piece offers a vision of the future for her youthful, 21st-century generation, and whether your own perspective is ominous or auspicious, in the end it seems to say: here be dragons.
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
When and Where
Mayflower Theatre Southampton
MON 24 - TUE 25 FEB 2025
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Marlowe Theatre Canterbury
FRI 28 FEB - SAT 1 MAR 2025
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Brighton Dome
TUE 4 - WED 5 MAR 2025
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Milton Keynes Theatre
FRI 7 - SAT 8 MAR 2025
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Theatre Royal Newcastle
FRI 14 - SAT 15 MAR 2025
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Eden Court Theatre Inverness
TUE 18 - WED 19 MAR 2025
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Alhambra Theatre Bradford
FRI 21 - SAT 22 MAR 2025
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Birmingham Hippodrome
TUE 25 - WED 26 MAR 2025
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Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Learning and Participation
Dance Consortium’s engagement programmes run parallel to tours, offering audiences an opportunity to deepen their understanding and passion for dance.
Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company’s UK tour not only delivers captivating performances but also presents enriching learning and participation activities tailored for schools, community groups and dance enthusiasts.
Post-Show Q&As: Choreographer & Artistic Director
Eun-Me Ahn and company members host illuminating post-show Q&A sessions on the tour’s opening night in each city. Audiences gain valuable insights into the artistic process, inspirations and stories behind one of South Korea’s leading artists.
Dance Workshops: A unique opportunity to join Eun-Me Ahn and members of the company for a workshop, learning how to cultivate and harness your inner energy and make it your own. This workshop will focus on techniques for controlling our body’s energy and centre, exploring methods for managing muscle control and balance. After a brief warm-up, participants will gain valuable insights into the company’s repertoire providing budding dancers and participants with a unique chance to learn from world-class performers.
Open Rehearsals: Audiences are welcomed to go behind the scenes and observe the dedication of the company dancers as they prepare for an evening performance. This is a unique chance to see inside
this process and gain insight into how rehearsals lead to dazzling displays of performance, musicality and virtuosity. Check with your local venue to see what’s on offer.
Insight Notes: Teachers and performing arts students can access complimentary introductory notes about Eun-Me Ahn Dance Company and Dragons. Available at danceconsortium.com, these valuable resources offer background information about the company and insights into the creative process. Suitable for formal and informal learning, these materials support curriculum study and enrich understanding and appreciation of dance.
Explore More: Learn about our year-round commitment to supporting creative careers and talent development. Recent initiatives include ongoing project, Future Leaders, that establishes connections between our 22 member theatres and the next generation of off-stage theatre workforce. The Ailey Project UK, fosters diversity in dance through a partnership with the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Dance Consortium is also a registered Arts Award Supporter, signposting young people to as many arts experiences as possible.
Visit danceconsortium.com for more information.
“The programme opened my eyes to the vast array of professions within the arts industries.”
Future Leaders in dance
Dance Consortium is dedicated to developing the future workforce of the dance/theatre sector by nurturing and supporting young professionals through various initiatives.
FUTURE LEADERS
Our initiative, established in 2015, connects our 22 member theatres in a free, flexible leadership program designed for individuals aged 19 to 26 interested in exploring off-stage careers. The Future Leaders promotes a range of producing and theatre management roles, and to date has developed over 120 aspiring arts professionals through skills workshops, networking sessions, work shadowing, and venue
open days. Spring 2024 events were held at Theatre Royal Plymouth, The Lowry Salford, Newcastle Theatre Royal and Sadler’s Wells, with at least 50% of places reserved for young people from backgrounds that are under-represented in the UK theatre workforce, offering opportunities to those facing barriers.
THEATRECRAFT
Join us at #Theatrecraft, the UK’s largest free creative careers event at the Royal Opera House, where Dance Consortium and One Dance UK showcase a wide range of job opportunities in dance and theatre, featuring panel sessions that delve into various roles across our vibrant creative sector.
“The chance to be around like-minded people in a similar stage of careers was very supportive and inspirational and made me feel motivated.”
and theatre
ON-TOUR WORK PLACEMENTS
For the past decade, Dance Consortium has provided hands-on placements for students from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) during our international dance tours, offering invaluable real-world tour management experience. Follow us on Dance Consortium socials to stay updated on opportunities for students to gain work experience with our member venues.
90% of previous participants rated Q&As with industry professionals as excellent.
Keen to know more?
• Explore the Future Leaders flexible leadership program and apply via danceconsortium.com. Application deadline – 1st April 2025
• To find out more about other career opportunities in the dance world and across our 22 member theatres in the UK and Ireland, please visit danceconsortium.com
95% said Future Leaders gave ideas or information to apply to the next steps in their training or careers.
Past tours and credits
Supported 2009, 2010, 2012 & 2014)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (2005, 2007, 2010 & 2016)
Ailey 2 (2011 & 2023)
Dance Theatre of Harlem (2004)
Danza Contemporanéa de Cuba (2010, 2012 & 2017)
Australian Dance Theatre (2007)
Bill T Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company (2004)
Breakin’ Convention (2007.
Cirque Éloize (2015. Supported 2011)
Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (2013)
Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker (2004, 2006 & 2010)
QDance Company (2024)
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (2008/2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018 & 2022)
Mark Morris Dance Group (2001, 2009 & 2019)
Paul Taylor Dance Company (2003)
Dada Masilo (2019 & 2023)
Acosta Danza (2020 & 2022)
Sao Paulo Dance Company (2024)
Les 7 Doigts (2021)
Stephen Petronio Company (2008)
m¡longa (2017)
Ballet British Columbia (2018)
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (2008)
Grupo Corpo (2005 & 2014)
Nederlands Dans Theater NDT 1 (2008)
Sutra, A Sadler’s Wells Production (2013)
Batsheva Ensemble (2012)
Compagnie Kafig (2005 & 2014)
La La La Human Steps (2008)
Nederlands Dans Theater NDT 2 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016 & 2022)
CO CHAIRS
Stephen Crocker & Marianne Locatori
DIRECTORS
Anand Bhatt, Helen Costello,
Stephen Crocker, Andrew Hurst, Rosie Kay, Marianne Locatori, Chris Stafford, Iona Waite & Suzanne Walker
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Joe Bates
SENIOR PRODUCER
Claire Morton
AUDIENCES & ENGAGEMENT
MANAGER
Megan Saunders
AUDITORS
Vanessa Graham at Topaz Solutions
ACCOUNTANTS
Rebecca Gaskin & Janice Jane Webster at Rowlands Webster
MARKETING
Helen Snell & Emma Russell at
Helen Snell Ltd; Shereden Mathews & Mark Dooley at Dressing Room 5
PRESS
Sue Lancashire & Martha Oakes at Martha Oakes PR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Matt Fishel
WEBSITE
HdK Associates
PROGRAMME DESIGN & PRINT
Consider This Agency
TOUR MANAGER
Ellen Booth
TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION COORDINATION
Andrej Gubanov
PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN
Jonny Reed
LIGHTING & TECHNICAL
Chris Tidmarsh & Dominic Cook
LIGHTING HIRE
White Light
SOUND & VIDEO HIRE
Stage Sound Services
TRUCKING ARRANGEMENTS
Fly By Nite
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
The Production Touring Team at Specialised Travel
INSURANCE
Gordon & Co. Insurance Brokers
Greener Touring
Dance Consortium is committed to exploring ways to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment through its environmental action plan. Whilst acknowledging that international touring creates an unavoidable carbon footprint, we are actively seeking ways to improve and mitigate against this. We endeavour to promote best practice across our membership and to raise awareness of the effects of climate change amongst our members, the companies we tour, suppliers, audiences attending our performances and the young people engaging in our Learning and Participation programme.
We continue to develop and promote new and innovative initiatives across the member venues. In the meantime, here’s a snapshot of some of the achievements that we are proud of…
• We supply all visiting companies with reusable Ocean Bottles for each company member and our venues provide water stations next to the stage. Dancers drink lots of water, so this reduces plastic waste from single-use bottles of mineral water.
• Our touring technical team uses Velcro fasteners in place of PVC electrical tape for cabling work wherever possible, reducing the sacks of tape waste usually produced at the end of each run of performances.
• To date, the solar panels at the Marlowe Theatre Canterbury have powered the equivalent of 111 shows. In partnership with Canterbury City Council, they have installed new all-LED lighting in the auditorium which will save up to 83% energy use compared to the old lighting.
• Norwich Theatre Royal installed a 10.6m x 2.6m Living Wall on the side of the fly tower.
• Brighton Dome and Festival is on a mission to reduce single-use plastics across the whole organisation and have teamed up with reusable cup experts Green Goblet to serve up audience drinks in an earth-friendly way.
• Each of our member venues has appointed a Green Champion and Dance Consortium facilitates a nationwide e-group to share ideas and resources.
• In November 2023, Dance Consortium held its first Greener Touring Symposium at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, bringing together representatives from across the large-scale theatre sector to explore the challenges and support changes to ensure touring is more sustainable.
• Eden Court, Inverness achieved a 10% reduction in gas use compared to 2019 and transitioned to Automated Meter Readings. They’ve had a Climate Emergency working group since 2020, with representation from Senior Leadership and board level, and publicly shared their Climate Emergency Commitment which is supported by an Action Plan that includes all areas of operations. They secured significant funding from the Community Regeneration Fund which, along with contributions from Patrons, committed to sustainability initiatives. This support facilitated the installation of Rockwool insulation at multiple locations throughout the building, significantly enhancing the venue’s energy efficiency and contributing to its long-term sustainability goals.
• Two of our Trustees are part of Arts Council England’s Board Environmental Champions Programme, which aims to embed environmental responsibility within Dance Consortium at governance level. This will support the members to step up their sustainability plans, reduce their environmental impact, and inspire peers and audiences at a time when it is most needed.
As well as the direct actions Dance Consortium and our member venues are taking to mitigate the climate crisis, we also see our role as helping to support our audiences understand what they do to help.
A recent report titled Act Green by Indigo, an award-winning organisation that researches audience behaviours and trends, showed that 86% of cultural audiences are worried about the climate crisis and 93% have made changes to their lifestyle to help tackle it. However, audiences feel that organisations are not doing enough or feel that they are not communicating what they are doing effectively. Whereas, 72% think cultural organisations have a responsibility to influence society to make radical change in response to the climate emergency.
In November 2023, Dance Consortium ran its first Greener Touring Symposium which looked at what large-scale theatres and their audiences can do support climate action.
Here are just a few ideas that you could consider:
• Travel: Can you use public transport to travel to the theatre? If not, then could you travel with friends and family to reduce the impact of private travel? Try using You Smart Thing, a new tool which can help you compare travel options and the amount of CO2e for each option: https://yousmartthing.com
• Reduce waste: Think about the flyers and brochures you collect and throw away. Could you take a photo of the information, so you have it digitally instead? Could you change your subscription to receive news from your venue via its e-newsletter rather than printed material through the post?
• Reuse cups and glasses: The Act Green Report suggested that 88% would reduce their use of disposable packaging and single use plastic at venues. Many of our member theatres now have reusable cups to help eliminate single use plastics. If you have a drink before the show, take them back for a refill at the interval, rather than requesting a fresh cup – we reuse glasses and cups at home so why not when we’re out and about!
• Recycling: Look out for recycling points around the theatres and if you can’t see them, just ask a member of staff to direct you.
• Turning your lights off at home: by coming together for a collective experience in the theatre, you can help offset the energy being used on stage to make the show happen by making sure lights and appliances are turned off whilst you’re out of the house.
Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou
Where we are
Dance Consortium is a group of 22 large theatres located across the UK and Ireland.
Dance Consortium was formed in 2000 with the aim of enriching the high-quality dance offer in the UK by presenting regular tours from international companies. It has since grown into a widespread consortium of venues with a core strategic aim to develop audiences for dance across the UK and Ireland, engage new attenders in innovative ways, and promote the art form as a source of accessible enjoyment and entertainment.
Since its formation Dance Consortium has presented 53 tours by 29 different companies whose performances and education activities have been experienced by hundreds of thousands of people across all parts of the UK and in Ireland.
His Majesty’s Theatre ABERDEEN
Tickets: 01224 641122
www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/ his-majestys-theatre
Grand Opera House BELFAST
Tickets: 028 9024 1919 www.goh.co.uk
BIRMINGHAM Hippodrome
Tickets: 0844 338 5000
Calls cost 4.5p per min plus access charge www.birminghamhippodrome.com
BLACKPOOL Grand Theatre
Tickets 01253 290190 www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk
Alhambra Theatre BRADFORD
Tickets: 01274 432000 www.bradford-theatres.co.uk
BRIGHTON Dome
Tickets: 01273 709709 www.brightondome.org
The Marlowe Theatre
CANTERBURY
Tickets: 01227 787787 www.marlowetheatre.com
Wales Millennium Centre CARDIFF
Tickets: 029 2063 6464
Mac croeso I chi cysylitu â ni yn Gymraeg www.wmc.org.uk
The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
DUBLIN
Tickets: +353 (1) 677 7999 www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie
Festival Theatre EDINBURGH
Tickets: 0131 529 6000 www.capitaltheatres.com
Wycombe Swan Theatre
HIGH WYCOMBE
Tickets: 0343 310 0060
www.trafalgartickets.com/wycombe-swantheatre
HULL New Theatre
Tickets: 01482 300306 www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Eden Court Theatre INVERNESS
Tickets: 01463 234 234 www.eden-court.co.uk
Sadler’s Wells and Peacock Theatre
LONDON Tickets: 020 7863 8000 www.sadlerswells.com
MILTON KEYNES Theatre
Tickets: 0844 871 7615
www.atgtickets.com/venues/miltonkeynestheatre
Theatre Royal NEWCASTLE
Tickets: 0191 232 7010 www.theatreroyal.co.uk
Theatre Royal NORWICH Tickets: 01603 630 000 www.norwichtheatre.org
Theatre Royal PLYMOUTH Tickets: 01752 267222 www.theatreroyal.com
The Lowry SALFORD Tickets: 0343 208 6000 www.thelowry.com
Southbank Centre LONDON
Tickets: 020 3879 9555 www.southbankcentre.co.uk
Mayflower Theatre SOUTHAMPTON
Tickets: 02380 711811 www.mayflower.org.uk
WOLVERHAMPTON Grand Theatre
Tickets: 01902 42 92 12 www.grandtheatre.co.uk
PASSING BY JOHAN INGER FRONTIER BY CRYSTAL PITE DANCE CONSORTIUM PRESENTS
‘SUPERB,
TUE 20 - WED 21 MAY LONDON SADLER’S WELLS THEATRE
FRI 23 - SAT 24 MAY EDINBURGH FESTIVAL THEATRE
TUE 27 - WED 28 MAY NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL SAT 31 MAY HIGH WYCOMBE SWAN THEATRE UK TOUR 2025 TWO UK PREMIERES
TUE 3 - WED 4 JUN PLYMOUTH THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
FRI 6 - SAT 7 JUN WOLVERHAMPTON GRAND THEATRE TUE 10 - WED 11 JUN NORWICH THEATRE ROYAL FOR TICKETS & INFO DANCECONSORTIUM.COM
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