A Decade of Dance

It’s been 10 years since Dance South West moved into Pavilion Dance in Bournemouth and became Pavilion Dance South West.

Over 500,000 people have danced with us during this last decade – in classes, on the stage in the Ocean Theatre, on the terrace in the Summer with Dancing Terraces and many other events too!

Here’s some highlights we have achieved over the last 10 years…..

50,000 school-age children and young people have experienced dance, some for the first time, in workshops led by our teams and fantastic professional dancers and show offers like ‘Penguins’ or ‘The Buildy Uppy’ Dance Show.

193 artists have worked in our studios to create now work. We’ve co-commissioned 130 shows and promoted just over 700 professional performances over the last decade.

We’ve supported Dr. Sophia Hulbert & Aimee Hobbs as they developed and rolled out the Parkinson’s Dance Science model and it is now a proud and important part of our dance family with links outwards through Dorset and Hampshire and beyond.

Pavilion Dance has become the focal point of our activity from which we roll out experience and opportunities to the wider South West and UK. We co-ordinate SW networks and work in partnership on specific programmes such as the Rural Touring Dance Initiative and Bristol Dance Futures and contribute to national networks such as the National Dance Network.

We are proud of being part of a strong regional and national dance infrastructure and grateful that with support from our audiences and participants, from funders such as Arts Council England and BCP Council, our space at Pavilion Dance in Bournemouth has made a positive difference by hosting the creation and presentation of fantastic work.

There are huge challenges for all of us during the next few months, maybe even longer, but be assured we will find creative ways to be inclusive so that new people, and more people, get the chance to experience dance.

So to celebrate our 10th year anniversary, we’ve compiled a whole day of dance for you to enjoy at home!

Sit back and listen to a Decade of Dance with our Anniversary Podcasts.

Go back in time with our first online photography exhibition of all our events in the last decade

Take a trip down memory lane with our 10 year brochure series

Supporting emerging artists is in our make up. Have your own private view of the work of one of the region’s newest talents.

And please support us to bring you more dance for the next decade.