Chisenhale Dance

🔊 Join the CDS Team!⁠
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We are searching for an Artist Community Producer to join our team❗ ⁠
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Could it be you…❓⁠
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📜 Contract: 0.8 (4 days / 32 hours) part time, 1 year-fixed term contract (with opportunity to extend)⁠
📅 To be negotiated, ideally early-May 2026⁠
💰 £24,000 per annum (£30,000 FTE)⁠
🚨 Deadline: Midnight, 2nd April 2026⁠
🔗 chisenhaledancespace.co.uk/job-opportunities
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✨ As the Artist Community Producer, you’ll be the key link between CDS and its 300-strong Artist Community, supporting artists to lead, shape and strengthen the organisation’s programme and ethos.⁠
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✨ Working within a small but dedicated team, you’ll act as the main point of contact for the Artist Community and Artist Committee - building trusted relationships, leading on the recruitment and onboarding of new artists, and ensuring the community feels informed, connected and empowered at the heart of CDS.⁠
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✨ This is a creative and people-centred role, focused on enabling artist-led activity and collective leadership to thrive.

We didn’t take home the One Dance UK Dance Sector Spotlight award this weekend — but being shortlisted meant more to us than we can easily say.

It was a privilege for Reece McMahon (Executive Director), Frances Morgan (Artist Community Producer) & So’l Jelenke (CDS Artist Committee member) to be there representing !

This recognition belongs to the incredible people who make up Chisenhale Dance Space: our staff, trustees, artist committee, founders, alumni and of course the 300 artists across London and the UK who form our artist community.

A few years ago, CDS nearly closed. Like so many organisations, we struggled through and after Covid. We genuinely believe the only reason we’re still here is because artists fought for this space — with passion, care, and determination. They took time to reimagine what CDS could be: how it might better support artists, gather community, and act as glue in an increasingly precarious sector. We believe artists know what they need, and that they are the drivers of change.

For over 40 years, CDS has made space for artists to lead, experiment, and create. In the last five years, we’ve paused to seriously interrogate what being artist-led really means.

We’ve radically shifted our governance, creating a paid artist committee working alongside our board and staff team, and reimagined our artist community to enable meaningful collective decision-making. We’ve also reoriented our relationship to the work we support — prioritising artist autonomy over traditional models of “development”, and striving for minimal gatekeeping.

These changes have been shaped by a multiplicity of voices. CDS began as a home for practices on the margins, and in 2022 we committed to supporting artists marginalised by racism and ableism, and historically excluded from decision-making in our building and beyond. We want to thank the many brilliant artists and committee members who have led this work — far too many to name, though we hold you all close!

Much of this work happens quietly, behind the scenes. Being shortlisted has given us a moment to share and celebrate it more publicly.

CDS is only as strong as its community. We exist because artists want us to exist: because they gather here to dance, make, support one another, and imagine a more caring, connected dance sector.

Thank you for this recognition. It affirms that grassroots spaces matter. DIY spaces matter. And artist leadership matters.

WE’VE BEEN SHORTLISTED!⁠
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We are thrilled to announce that we’ve been shortlisted for The Dance Sector Spotlight One Dance UK award! 🤩 ⁠
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This award shines a light on those whose work is vital to the production and support of dance, and we’re so proud to be recognised for our work championing artist leadership and independent dance artists.⁠
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We can’t wait to join other incredible organisations and individuals in February for the award night!

A share from our friends !

🚨Their annual Choreodrome summer residency is now accepting applications for 2026.

This year’s programme offers two levels of support:

➡️ 4 × £2,000 commissions + one week studio space (for early stage projects)

➡️ 6 × £4,000 commissions + two weeks studio space + performance opportunity (for more developed projects)

Selected Artists will receive: bespoke creative & dramaturgical support, free technical equipment hire, networking with other choreographers & industry professionals, mentoring, and the chance to share/pitch your work at Choreodrome’s Making Progress showcase.

⏰ Applications Close on 23 January 2026. There will be a virtual Q&A hosted by the Place on Jan 19, please email [email protected]
to book your place.

All styles of movement practice welcomed!

🔗 Head to the bio link for more info.

WE'VE BEEN NOMINATED! 🚨

We’re proud to announce that we’ve been nominated for a One Dance UK award! 🤩

One Dance UK Awards are an annual celebration to bring together people working in all areas of the dance sector, from dance teachers and choreographers to producers and dance scientists, and celebrate all the amazing work happening across the UK.
It's an opportunity to acknowledge and reward those whose hard work and dedication is having an incredible impact and transforming lives through dance.

We're so pleased that has been recognised amongst an incredible host of peers in the dance sector for our ongoing work to champion independent dance artists and artist leadership.

🗣️ Meetup Mornings at Chisenhale Dance Space ☕

🗓️ Tuesdays, 7 JAN - 25 MARCH 2025
🕗 8am - 10am
📍CDS
🎟️ £2
🔗 https://ow.ly/P0Z850UsKZN

Meetup Mornings is an open time for artists to share space in our Performance Studio every Tuesday morning.

➖ It costs £2, and you can use the space to get an idea out of your head, have a boogie before work, or even meet a new collaborator. It’s (probably) the cheapest space in East London!

➖ You might end up sharing the space with a large group of other artists, or you might have the space all to yourself!

➖ Afterwards, you are welcome to enjoy a tea or coffee in our lounge space and make use of our free WiFi.

So...see you next Tuesday!?

➡️ The space is not facilitated, and we ask that all attendees respect our accountable space principles.

ℹ️ Please note, we are on the second floor of a warehouse building, accessed by a staircase only. We regret that we cannot currently adequately support wheelchair users and those for whom stairs are a barrier.

🚨 CHILDREN'S CLASSES CONTINUE IN 2025! 🚨

Creative Dance Classes for Children - Spring Term 2025
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🗓️ Sat 11th Jan - Sat 29th March
🕔 Between 9.15am - 11.50am
📍Chisenhale Dance Space
🎟️ £99 for 11 week term, £9 per week (where available)
🔗 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creative-dance-classes-for-children-spring-term-2025-tickets-1084396632519?aff=oddtdtcreator

ℹ️ Hosted by Chisenhale Dance Space, our fun, creative and interactive dance classes provide a safe and nurturing environment for children to explore movement and express themselves.

4️⃣ separate classes take place every Saturday:
➖ 09:15 - 10:00 Mini movers, ages 2-3 with parents / carers
➖ 09:15 - 10:00 Wiggle On, ages 3-4 with parents / carers
➖ 10:10 - 10:50 Leaps & Strides, ages 4-5
➖ 11:00 - 11:50 Creative Contemporary, ages 6-9

➡️ You can choose the class that fits your child / children via the relevant link once you click on 'book'.

🗣️ COMING UP FAST NEXT MONTH!

🌱Cultivating Connection: Let's Play - Repairing Play in Dance
~ A workshop with Ashely Lim for disabled & neurodivergent artists 🌱

📍Poplar Union
⏰ 12th Dec, 7 - 9:30pm
💰Pay what you feel (£3, £5, £7)
🎫 https://ow.ly/qQY650TVA9A

✨ Let's Play is a well-being movement class that uses props and dance games to initiate movement. It's mostly improvisation and finding your own way of moving, nothing is right or wrong!

✨ Ashley invites you to play and find your inner child. Using the theory of repairing play by Aaron Trammel in their practice. Come and find out how you can repair play within your practice.

🚨 CLASS ALERT 🚨
~ with Mira Hirtz & Franziska Boehm

❄️ We are supper happy to announce that we will be offering a few Skinner Releasing Technique classes in London this winter!

🗣️ Skinner Releasing Technique, Introductory Classes � 9, 10, 11 and 1,2,3

📆 Saturdays from Nov 2nd - Dec 7th 2024
⏰ 11am-1pm �
📍Chisenhale Dance Research Studio ��
🎟️ Booking required due to limited capacity
✉️ [email protected]

ABOUT:

➖Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT) is a movement and dance practice that was developed in the 80s in the US by Joan Skinner. SRT explores softness and gentleness to find energy and strength. It is a permissive and playful approach to letting go of unnecessary physical tension, of ideas about what is supposed to happen, or of what dance is. �

➖There is a set of 15 introductory classes, which are based on improvisation and are guided by the facilitator using words, poetic imagery and music. Some hands on and touch based partners exercises support the process. Each class ends with a few moments �of writing or drawing.��

➖SRT can be beneficial to artists of all kinds, professional dancers, actors, musicians, as well as to anybody interested in movement. �� You don’t need any prior experience of dance classes, and are invited to move according to your needs. Please note that watching is not possible in order to avoid an audience-performer dynamic, but you can always rest on the side.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

➡️ Class card for all 6 classes are: £60
➡️ Drop ins are available for: £15 (standard) / £12 (concession)
🗣️ If these fees present a barrier, �please get in touch! ���

ℹ️ For space accessibility please refer to the �Chisenhale Dance website.