The Dance Space

The Dance Space - A new home for dance in Brighton and the South East

Circus Street Artist Impression 2

John McAslan & Partners/Alan Martin, Dec 2005

A home for dance

We are hugely excited about a project that is being gifted to us by Brighton & Hove City Council. It will be a new build development, in Circus Street, in the cultural quarter on the edges of the centre of Brighton.

'Brighton has one of the most vibrant dance communities in the country but lacks a single vital ingredient to ensure this community reaches its international potential. The Dance Space would fill this gap and the possibilities for Brighton Dome and Festival to collaborate, create new work and offer education and participation opportunities for the whole community are truly exciting and I wholeheartedly endorse its development.'

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome and Festival

We are expected to be the manager of the building's creative spaces, including substantial offices and two state of the art dance studios. The space will be a production space and not a performance space.

'The South East region is home to some of the most exciting dance companies in the country, with artists such as Hofesh Shechter and Jasmin Vardimon new to our portfolio of south east regularly funded organisations; and dance organisations such as StopGAP Dance, Woking Dance and The Point. There is an appetite among audiences to embrace new work and a real opportunity to broaden and deepen engagement in the arts through dance. For all of these reasons and more I believe the Circus Street centre for dance, where artists can research and develop new work, is an important and very welcome development for Brighton and the region.'

Felicity Harvest, Executive Director, Arts Council England, South East

We have commissioned a feasiblity report and have been busy consulting with artists, communities and other dance spaces and buildings.

Brighton and Hove City Council have selected Cathedral Group to redevelop their Circus Street site into an exemplar mixed-use urban development, which will provide amongst other objectives, flexible creative workspace and a creation space within 1,128m squared, for use by cultural organisaitons, artists, community groups and the broader creative industries.

For a look at the site go to: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1141683 To learn more about Cathedrals projects go to: www.cathedralgroup.com

This project represents a potential in-kind investment to the value of £2.133 million pounds to us, the artists and communities we work with and other local creative industries by the Council.  By choosing to invest this money in the provision of these facilities we are being offered a secure home where work can be created by the artistic and wider communities that we work with.

'The inclusion of a state-of-the-art dance studio in the Circus Street development is a fantastic idea, offering the project a cultural and creative heart and the local community a wonderful facility. We have been delighted at the way the developers, Cathedral Group, and South East Dance have been working together to make The Dance Space a reality.'

Scott Marshall, Director of Cultural Services, Brighton & Hove City Council

This project is a potentially unique model for the provison of such spaces nationally. It could be a flagship project for the City, the region and the country and could provide a real focus for artistic activity in the region and an exciting new future for us as a key regional and national cultural organisation.

The realisation of The Dance Space and Workspace, will allow us to move towards a new and exciting future with access to international standard facilities for the creation of dance in our home city.

'Brighton has never had facilities like this, for as long as I have lived and worked in Brighton it has always been assumed that proximity to London was enough to keep us happy.

The climate of dance work in Brighton exists as a working practice behind closed- doors, this new space will give it a public platform, which can only be good for a communicating art form.

This project aspires to a unique approach as a creation centre in this country, and frankly Brighton is just the kind of place that responds to unique approaches.'

Professor Liz Aggiss (University of Brighton) national and international dance artist in single screen dance and installation, live performance and mentor

By bringing together a combination of commercial, artistic and community uses we could benefit from a broader range of income streams to secure our ongoing financial viability.

Vision for The Dance Space

• To create a natural and accessible home and locus for the creation of dance in the City and South East region, of national and international profile
• To build a special dance space for all aspects of dance creation, focussing on creativity, production, choreography, research & development and transformation
• To establish a working ethos and environment that is open and welcoming which enables professional dance artists and local communities to be valued equally and work side by side and together in the space
• To work with like-minded partners to provide access to dance that currently does not exist, to raise young peoples understanding and experience of dance
• To grow the dance and creative industries in the South East by providing a much needed resource

If a building is achieved the long term benefits will be huge and far-reaching for thousands of people and will include:

• Growth of a viable artistic community in Brighton and Hove and the South East
• The continued relocation of artists to the South East
• Tremendous growth in the dance sector within the South East
• Supporting the increased role dance is playing on the health agenda and providing greater opportunities for participation
• Increased standards in community practice and training
• Increased provision in artistic creation in the South East
• A creation space of significant quality comparable with the artistic quality of the artists based in the region.

'Dance in the region needs space not for performance but for training and rehearsal.  The professional dance population of Brighton & Hove and the region is growing and this lack of space has become a major issue for us at South East Dance.  A dedicated home for dance in Brighton is the only answer. The proposed Dance Space is hugely exciting.  It will not only provide South East Dance with a secure future but the home base our dancers and dance artists have been waiting for.'

Bob Lockyer, Chair, Board of Trustees (2003 - 2009), South East Dance

The Dance Space Feasibility Study

The impetus for The Dance Space stems from the simple concept that choreographers, dance artists and wider dance communities should have the best possible environment in which to make and share their work. This environment is currently unstable, poorly resourced and hampered by a lack of physical and financial resources. To read the Dance Space Feasibility Study click here.

'We are very pleased to be involved with the development of a dedicated dance space in Brighton. Jasmin Vardimon Company has had offices in Brighton for several years and the development will provide a much needed creation and rehearsal space which has been lacking up to date. The Dance Space will be a real asset for the dance community in our region.’  

Jasmin Vardimon, Artistic Director & CEO , Jasmin Vardimon Company

We are hugely excited about this project and will keep you updated with its development. If you have any comments or questions do email us at: sharon.duggal@southeastdance.org.uk

Please click here for the downloadable leaflet.

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