The Place’s Robin Howard Dance Theatre is the UK's busiest dance theatre, with over 300 companies from the UK and abroad performing in the 300 seat venue each year. The Place also runs many programmes supporting the professional development of dance artists.
The Theatre and Artist Development department also has a broad-ranging programme of support and professional development for dance artists. Without the support of sponsors such as Bloomberg, The Place would not be able to invest in developing artists to present risk-taking and pioneering dance in the theatre.
Pioneering Fund
We have launched a Pioneering Fund specifically to help us support those ideas which push contemporary dance into previously unexplored territory. We very much need the support of individuals who share our vision for creating new work and who recognise The Place’s vital role in nurturing new talent and supporting pioneering activity. The Pioneering Fund will provide The Place with the financial resources necessary to continue to take risks and invest in ground-breaking initiatives, as and when new opportunities arise.
A gift to the Pioneering Fund will help us ensure the very best future for contemporary dance.
You can support the Fund by giving online or by downloading and returning a Pioneering Fund donation form.
Work Place
Work Place is a new professional development model, with a focus on supporting the sustainability of talented dance artists. It will provide long-term, bespoke professional development packages that address the needs of artists at varying stages of their careers, including new, emerging and mature choreographers. Incorporating the unparalleled range of activity The Place undertakes and harnessing its internal expertise, Work Place will deliver a uniquely rich set of resources, support and opportunities for each artist. It will generate a growing community of artists, creating a fertile environment of exchange, shared learning and support between choreographers of diverse experience levels and backgrounds.
Work Place also hopes to provide a practical solution to the lack of managers with specialist skills in supporting contemporary choreographers, offering arts professionals vocational experience in how to manage choreographers. In the long-term the programme will build a specialist skills base to support the sustainability of choreographers’ careers and resource the future growth of the art form.
The Place would like to thank the Foyle Foundation for their generous support towards Work Place, enabling us to fund the Artist Manager role over the first two years of the initiative.
The Place Prize, sponsored by Bloomberg
The biennial Place Prize for dance, sponsored by Bloomberg, is the top prize in British dance. The Place Prize commissions twenty new works, with choreographers receiving £5,000 and free studio time to create original 15-minute pieces. Finalists then compete in X-Factor style performances for audience prizes and the final Place Prize of £25,000. The Prize creates a level playing field for new choreographic voices to compete with their more established counterparts, and huge benefits to all who enter.
Since its inception The Place Prize has created sixty new works and has invested over £1 million into contemporary dance.
Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities
Last year more than 25,000 people attended performances in the Robin Howard Dance Theatre. The theatre offers a wide range of corporate sponsorship opportunities, with benefits including the opportunity to associate your brand with artistic excellence and innovation. Alongside press and PR benefits, The Place can also offer exclusive hospitality packages.
If you would like to discuss ways of supporting our Theatre & Artist Development projects please contact Stephen Clarke in the Development Department on 0207 121 1051 or email
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