
About
Our work is supported by a valued network of Home Bases for dance: Exeter Northcott Theatre, Dartington Arts, ROC Creative, The Plough Arts Centre and Exeter Phoenix. These partnerships are the result of over a decade of relationship building and were set up by DiD to facilitate a co-ordinated approach to the highest quality dance and talent development across the county. These relationships also help us to take dance to more unusual spaces, where people live, work and play, allowing the widest demographic to share in dance, often sometimes walking through the door of a theatre.
Our Dance Bases
Exeter
Exeter Phoenix
Exeter Phoenix is the South West’s foremost multi-artform venue. Nestled in the heart of the city, Exeter Phoenix is a vibrant venue offering live events, exhibitions and classes. Each month we hold our Dance Café at in the café bar at Exeter Phoenix. We work closely with the team to offer free rehearsal space to local artists through Space to Play, run network events like Dance Talks and Creative Conversation, and run post show discussions for the dance programme. We also programme performances, recently bringing The Doodle Dance Show to Exeter. Previously we have offered live streaming from rehearsals.

Exeter Northcott Theatre
We work together to produce Watch This Space, an annual performance platform for Devon and SW artists to share new choreography on a middle scale stage. The support from ENT is extensive and has included; technical mentoring and time to explore lighting and sound with support and Space to Play – including in foyer and public/backstage traverse areas. We also value the other opportunities that this relationship offers such as opportunities for outreach from visiting companies eg Northern Ballet Theatre and the recruitment of young performers eg Gangsta Granny. Investment from Dance in Devon allowed Exeter Youth Dance Company to be ignited with input from Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company tied into their performances at ENT.

Torbay
ROC Creative
We joined forces with ROC in 2015 to strengthen our relationships in Torbay and especially to explore developing dance with adults with learning disability. Their base at Palace Theatre Paignton has become a supportive community asset and provides one of our anchor points for dance development in the area. We have invested in offering ROC Creative opportunities to work with dance artists eg Richard Chappell who is developing a long term relationship with the dancers and dance leadership team there. We are keen to explore how we can build on this relationship to continue to respond to ROC Creative’s ambitions for dance. SculptMotion, ROC Creative’s performing company always raises the rafters at our performance events eg Watch This Space and Torbay Community Platform.

Great Torrington
The Plough Arts Centre
The Plough Arts Centre, is a 240 seat theatre and cinema, with art gallery, rehearsal space and cafe in the rural town of Torrington, north Devon. We have worked on many community arts projects here, in 2015 our Arts Wave Devon project Fire and Water worked with local groups, held events and put on performances at The Plough. We also support the developing dance programme, offer free rehearsal space through Space to Play, hold Creative Conversation events and support Inspire the annual Devon Youth dance platform. We also have provided support and mentorship to Sapta Dance, an older people’s dance group based at The Plough.

South Hams
Dartington Arts
Our office is based at Dartington and our Home Base partner, Dartington Arts supports dance development with us by offering studio space as part of Space to Play. This relationship has also supported many Dance in Devon initiatives including; Young Choreographers South West, Dance in Time and Dance Together, our monthly family sessions. Many dance artists have benefitted from the exceptional studios here through Space to Play. Local artists also benefit from Dartington’s membership scheme which includes a heavily subsidised studio booking offer.
Recent joint working has included supporting companies developing new work eg State of Emergency (Where is Home? development and preview), Broken Spectacles (Space to Play, Watch This Space, Dartington Live season). Dartington is also host to regular contact improvisation sessions, Attik Youth Dartington and an extensive range of somatic dance events.
With many opportunities for a rich future for dance at Dartington, this relationship has the potential for new associate artist schemes, performance platforms and other creative collaborations. The history of progressive, cross-art collaboration at Dartington offers positive momentum for future close working.

North Devon
Our partnership with North Devon Theatres – The Landmark, Ilfracombe and Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple has been very positive and strategically important, helping us to build resilience and increased opportunities especially for young people in North Devon. In recent years youth dance projects with Motionhouse and a number of performance platforms have contributed to a co-ordinated approach to dance development, bringing together a wide range of dance leaders, schools and individual artists who work across a range of styles and contexts. We are working towards further co-ordinated development opportunities with partners in North Devon including Pilton and Petroc Colleges, North Devon Youth Dance Company and Make the Move. We have a number of relationships across communities in North Devon including artists, care homes and libraries and we will work with the new leadership at The Landmark and Queens Theatres when possible to develop positive relationships.
Future
We are interested in growing our partnerships to support dance activity happening across Devon. Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss ways in which we can work together.
Contact Details
Please contact Sue Smith to discuss Dance Base partnerships
Email: director@danceindevon.org.uk