Keep Moving Artist Development Programme
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The Keep Moving Artist Development programme marked the latest chapter in a long-term commitment to disability and inclusion in dance across the Midlands.
The Dance Leaders Group and FABRIC co-designed two artist development residencies in partnership with Motionhouse and Anjali Dance Company. Each placed a disabled artist within a professional company setting, supporting leadership development and improving pathways into employment.
Instead of adapting an exsiting mainstream model, the residencies were co-produced with inclusion at their core — shaped by trust, ongoing dialogue, and a flexible approach to creative and access needs.
What happened in the Residencies
Anjali company dance Nick McKerrow worked in close collaboration with renowned choreographer Gary Clarke, and artistic & access advisor Rachel Liggitt in. Following Nick’s Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) Award that explored his transition from performer to choreographer, this studio-based opportunity focused on the creation of Nick’s first autobiographical solo work.
Disabled choreographer, Sander Verbeek (he/they) shadowed Artistic Director Kevin and Assistant Director Daniel during the creation of Hidden, their next touring production. Sander gained inside knowledge of how a touring company creates large scale productions, learning how Kevin shapes material as the show evolved.
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It was a test of possibility – a real-world experiment in what inclusive, equitable artist development could look like when done well. It showed that the potential is there. The talent is there. The hunger is there.
The Artists – what are they doing now?
Sander is keeping connnected to the artists and professionals they have met and is activley applying for other positions and funding.
Nick is seeking further funding to enable his new work to be ready for premiere. He was awarded a Liberty Festival R&D grant in early 2025, and is now looking for other funding opportunities to sustain his practice and ensure his work can continue to develop, with the ambition to secure tour bookings.
The Residency Partners – what’s next?
Each participating organisation made three commitments in response to their learning:
Anjali Dance Company
- Explore the development of a specific pastoral/care policy for creative processes, to proactively ensure holistic, psychologically safe artistic environments
- Document Nick’s full development trajectory, from initial DYCP award to the point of work distribution, as a roadmap for other mid-career artists interested in choreography.
- Maintain an environment which focuses on the art and Nick, rather than forced outcomes, to maximise artistic integrity
“What feels really important is that Nick and Anjali get the ability to continue and for the work to be made and to be shared. That’s where the power is; the part where want to put time into. In a way then we all become much more familiar with what it is, we can see it shared with more people and it becomes something that isn’t theoerised work, it’s good work and he is out there doing it.”
FABRIC
Motionhouse
- Use the project as a springboard to explore further initiatives for disabled artists
- Continue to seek partnerships to build on this experience and proactively look for fundraising opportunities
- Integrate key learnings from the project into regular practice and future projects including during recruitment
FABRIC
- To continue to work with regional partners to develop and refine interventions and models of working e.g. Artist Development investment agreed with Shropshire Inclusive Dance (SiD) to upskill and mentor dance artist, Beth Gardiner
- A commitment to supporting progression routes into dance careers inside and outside of education and vocational routes e.g Keep Moving project and training provision like Future Shift
- To share the key learning from this project as part of a wider strategy that focuses on inequity in the dance workforce, launching a campaign that celebrates all the achievements since 2022’s Critical Mass project.
Dance Leaders Group
- FABRIC currently convenes the Dance Leaders Group, who collectively have a commitment to identify new funding opportunities to support this work.
