Calling all artists, producers, choreographers and dance companies working in dance in the Bradford district! Take your work to the next level with our 8-month bespoke development programme.
Apply by
Sunday 6 October 2024 at 11 PM
After 2 successful rounds of Sustain in 2022 and 2023, our popular programme for mid-career artists returns, and this time we’re supporting creatives working in dance. The 8-month programme comprises a mixture of one-to-one meetings, in-person and online group sessions, and self-directed time.
Lou Cope, a Performance Dramaturg, leads Sustain and brings over 15 years of experience working collaboratively with artists and organisations to enhance their processes and creative practice.
About Sustain
Here is what you can expect from our Sustain programme:
- You will receive bespoke support from our host, Lou Cope, who will apply the principles of dramaturgy to creative career development to help you negotiate the challenges of working as a mid-career artist within the dance sector.
- This will take the form of one-to-one sessions plus a mixture of online and in-person group sessions.
- The programme is deliberately spread out over several months to offer time for you to reflect on the challenges you’re facing and test some of the strategies you develop – with time to assess the impact along the way.
- You will be part of a cohort of fellow dance creatives to whom you will offer and receive peer-to-peer support as well as share experiences.
- 3-months after the programme, you will have an online session with Lou to check in on your progress and help you sustain momentum
Who is Sustain for?
Our 2024-2025 round of Sustain is tailored especially for:
- Bradford-based dance professionals involved in the creation, making, or delivery of dance projects and performances
- Mid-career* artists, producers, choreographers and dance professionals
- Established* dance companies based in the Bradford district
- Those actively making and producing dance performances and projects
- Those finding challenges or barriers in taking their work to the next level
These challenges or barriers might include, but are not limited to:
- Scaling up your work
- Enhancing the quality of production
- Expanding your profile or reputation
- Taking your work to new audiences or locations
- Growing your company in terms of team and/or cast
- Having the capacity to think and plan more long-term
- Addressing barriers that might be holding you back, such as prejudice, racism, economic, glass ceilings, self-confidence or other societal barriers
* See our FAQ section for more information on these definitions.
Sustain is not for you if you are:
- An Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) – though you may be planning to apply to become an NPO
- Not currently making or producing dance projects or performances
- Organisations or companies who’s primary focus is delivering classes or workshops
- An early-career or ’emerging’ creative, or still in full-time education
- A ‘Dancer for hire’, i.e. a dancer who works solely as cast in other people’s projects
Sustain timeline
Before applying to Sustain, please ensure that you can commit to the below timeline and please pencil these dates in your calendar when making your application. Places on this programme are limited. It is therefore essential to commit to these dates.
Key dates:
- Monday 11 or Tuesday 12 November 2024
First 1-2-1 with Lou (90 mins) - Thursday 21 November 2024, 11 AM – 3 PM
Group in-person intro day - Monday 9 or Tuesday 10 December 2024
Second 1-2-1 with Lou (90 mins) - Tuesday 7 January 2025, 6 – 8 PM
Online group session - Thursday 30 January 2025, 10.30 AM – 5 PM
Group Away Day - Monday 24 or Tuesday 25 February 2025
Third 1-2-1 with Lou (90 mins) - Tuesday 18 March 2025, 6 – 8 PM
Online group session - Monday 2 or Tuesday 3 June 2025
Final check-in 1-2-1 with Lou (90 mins)
About the host
Lou Cope
Lou Cope is a Dramaturg and Artist Development Specialist who has worked in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, America and across the UK. She works in theatre, opera and dance (including ballet, contemporary, South Asian, participatory, hip hop, early years, children’s and inclusive) – indoors and outdoors, at all scales and in numerous contexts.
Current and previous collaborations include; Stina Quagebeur, Gary Clarke, Zoonation, Rhiannon Faith, Aakash Odedra, Stopgap Dance, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet.
Shows Lou has worked on have won several awards including 2 Oliviers (Babel (words) – Cherkaoui & Jalet), UK Theatre & National Dance Awards (Coal – Gary Clarke), and The ACTA Eastern Eye Award (#JeSuis – Aakash Odedra).
“Sustain is one of the most fulfilling and impactful projects I am involved in, and I am really excited that this year the focus is on mid-career Dance Makers and Choreographers. I can’t wait to bring people together in a nurturing but also challenging space to dig deep into what they are doing, why, where, how and who for - to try to help ensure that their practice is not only sustainable but also focused, authentic and rewarding.”
How to apply
The application deadline is Sunday 6 October 2024 at 11 PM.
Applications are made by completing our online application form. If you need to make your application another way, please see our FAQ section below where you can also see a copy of the application questions.
If you have any questions at all, please drop us an email at hello@bdproducinghub.co.uk
FAQs
Each participant will be expected to attend:
- 4x 1-2-1 online sessions
(90 mins each) - 2x group online sessions
(2 hours each) - 1x half-day in-person session
(11 AM – 3 PM) - 1x full-day in-person session
(10.30 AM – 5 PM)
For specific dates, see the Sustain timeline. You must be able to commit to these dates when making your application.
You will also be expected to undertake self-directed development work in between these sessions – the more time you invest in yourself during this programme, the more you will get out of it in the long run.
It’s essential that you can commit to all the group sessions on the timeline. There may be some flexibility on some of the 1-2-1 sessions, but this can only be accommodated under certain circumstances. Sustain dates should take priority in your calendar.
We know that in the arts, there can be little clarity around the term ‘mid-career’. Arts careers are rarely linear and people often hold multiple roles at varying stages of development. Mid-career is not about age; it’s about people with experience and a clear idea about their development goals.
Here are some other ways mid-career can be described (you might just be 1 of these things):
- You have a past, ongoing present and a future in your art career
- You have been actively pursuing this element of your career or creating work and sharing it for 5-10 years
- You have already established a reputation in your sector
- You share your work more regionally or nationally to where you are located
- You have built up a larger body of work
- You have an established audience for your work
- You have earned various awards or grants for your work
If it’s more accessible for you to make your application by submitting a video or audio file, then you are welcome to do so. Please email your application to hello@bdproducinghub.co.uk by the deadline.
Here are some guidance notes for submitting your application via email:
- Please use the subject line ‘Sustain application submission‘.
- Please attach, or link to, an audio/video application of no more than around 5 minutes in length. This should answer all the questions detailed in the ‘What are the application questions?’ FAQ below.
- In the email, please include the following information:
- Your full name
- Your email address
- Your telephone number
- Your full postcode
- Your connection to Bradford
- Whether you have any access requirements we need to consider when communicating with you, or when handling your application (you’re welcome to upload an access rider too)
To help you to prepare your application in advance, here are the main questions ask in the application form:
- What is your connection to Bradford?
If you’re applying as a company or an organisation:
- What is the name of your company or organisation?
- Please tell us a bit more about your company or organisation
How long have you been going? What kind of work do you create? Do you have a particular mission or ethos within your organisation? Do you work in a specific dance style or genre? What are your most notable projects or performances? - Please provide any links to your website and social media accounts where can find out more about you and your work
If you’re applying as an individual:
- Tell us more about your practice
Do you make dance performances? Run a project? Do you have a particular mission, ethos or themes within your work? Do you work in a specific dance style or genre? How long have you been practising? What are your most notable projects or performances? - Please provide any links to your professional website, social media accounts, or anywhere else can find out more about you and your work
All applicants:
- Do you have any access requirements we need to consider when handling your application, communicating with you, or to enable you to participate in this programme?
- What are your access requirements?
You will have the option to upload an access rider in the next question. - What are the challenges, barriers, sticking points or development needs you are experiencing that this programme could help you to address?
Please be as specific as you can. - What are your career or company aspirations for the next 2-5 years?
- In what ways do you hope the Sustain programme will support your professional development?
Yes, we can offer bursaries to attend this programme. These are not means tested, but please only request a bursary if this is something you need to enable you to participate. The bursary is there to cover your time where you would otherwise be working in a freelance capacity. If you are participating as an employee of an organisation, we would expect this time to be covered as part of your working hours.
Bursaries are paid as follows:
- Sessions up to half a day (4 hours) will be paid at £50
- Full-day sessions will be paid at £75
To apply for this funding, please complete a Bursary & Access Fund form once you have made your application.
Access funds are also available. Please see the next section for more information.
Yes, we can cover travel and any other access costs that may otherwise present a barrier to you being able to participate in the activity. Access costs include things like childcare and other caring costs; BSL, language and other interpretation costs; as well as access support workers, or any other access costs you might face.
To apply for this funding, please complete a Bursary & Access Fund form once you have made your application.
We will assess applications against our eligibility criteria. We’re looking to select applicants who will gain the most from the programme and represent the diverse ranges of dance practices and communities across the Bradford district. Strong applications will clearly state your professional goals and how you hope the programme will help you to achieve them.
People who have completed the Sustain programme before are not eligible to apply. If you have made an unsuccessful application to Sustain before and meet the criteria detailed above, you are welcome to apply to this round.
