Dance Base

28/05/2026

PROSPECT | Japan Solo Residency Call Out 📢

Dance Base Scotland has teamed up with Dance Base Yokohama to create a brand new international dance residency!

PROSPECT will position a Scotland-based artist within the Japanese dance sector for an extended period, through undertaking four weeks of studio-based research at Dance Base Yokohama, followed by a week to connect, explore and network.

Residency: September – November 2026
Deadline: Friday 19 June, 11:00

Find out more - https://loom.ly/L7crHZI

Dance Base Scotland and Dance Base Yokohama have partnered to create Prospect, a solo residency in Japan for a Scotland-based artist.

26/05/2026

This week we have Malcolm Sutherland Choreographer & Composer in residence working with PRIME! ✨

Malcolm will work with our in-house company for over-60s to create a new piece, to be premiered at Dance Base Festival in partnership with Assembly Festival this year.

The piece will use the Greek chorus as a collective protagonist: a unified body that thinks, reacts and remembers together, becoming both witness and actor. Through rhythm, synchronisation and amplified gesture, the group embodies the “ideal spectator,” shaping meaning not through individuality but through shared voice and movement...

Residency Sharing
📆Friday 29 May
🕐6:00 – 17:00
🎟️£free - book now: https://loom.ly/Eo1XzsI

Composers Zoe Katsilerou and Eilon Morris will be working with Malcolm to create a new score for this work.

📸1. Malcolm Sutherland by Bohumil Kostohryz. 2-8: PRIME perform at Go Dance 2026, image credit Studio Snap.

22/05/2026

LYDC Lead Artist Call Out! 📢

Dance Base is on the lookout for a Lead Artist to work with Lothian Youth Dance Company (LYDC).

Lothian Youth Dance Company (LYDC) is Dance Base’s in-house company for young dancers aged 14-21. The LYDC Lead Artist will lead the company dancers in their technical and creative development, nurturing their skills and group cohesion over the course of the year.

Deadline: 12:00 (midday) | Thursday 18 June 2026

Find out more: https://loom.ly/XQxBQaQ

Dance Base is seeking a Lead Artist to work with Lothian Youth Dance Company (LYDC) from from September 2026- August 2027.

19/05/2026

💫New Jack Swing | A Hip Hop Party Workshop with Ashley Jack

Want to take your House dance skills to the next level? Join Edinburgh Hip Hop and House dance legend Ashley Jack for this high energy New Jack Swing workshop!

From Tony T to TLC....Boyz II Men to Bobby Brown! The New Jack Swing era was the House Party era! Learn old school Hip Hop party steps to New Jack Swing music and be prepared to party like the 90's. Wear your 'Fresh Prince' outfit and be sure to bring water as this workshop will be high energy!

📅 Saturday 23 May 2026
🕜 13:30-15:00
👟 Level: Improver
🎟️ Tickets: £15/£12

Book your spot! Link in bio.

https://loom.ly/qIyK44M

18/05/2026

✨This week, we have Hannah Draper in residence, working on 'the slower we go, the faster we get there'.

Hannah will explore improvisation as a way to access different states safely and exploratively – letting the body reveals things before the mind knows them/ or logic can decide what happens next.

How can resilience and understanding be built through the body and in relation to one another? How does improvisation practice support us to move safely through different states of nervous system activation in the body? How do we stay connected through difference, difficult feelings and change? How can dance resource us, how can we resource the dance?

Join Hannah this Friday 22 May for a residency sharing: https://loom.ly/XxkTsJ8

📸 Emily Nicholl

15/05/2026

🌴 Summer Rumble! ☀️

Join us for Summer Rumble - our annual Summer Showcase and your chance to see the amazing work of our in-house performance companies and community groups.

Featuring:
Lothian Youth Dance Company
PRIME
Inclusive Dance

With special guests:
24 Carat Gold
Community Company X (Alan Greig)
Multicultural Youth Dance Company
Theiya Arts

With a film by Clifftop Projects

📆 Sunday 21 June
🕐18:00

Find out more and book your ticket!

https://loom.ly/0MnMvyA

Join us for Summer Rumble 2026: a celebration of Dance Base’s in-house performance companies and community groups.

12/05/2026

Pro Workshop: Exploring ESPE with Jen Wren ✨

On Wednesday 27 May, join Jen for a multidisciplinary workshop themed around her current project 'ESPE'.

Taking influence from cultural and artistic practices of Scottish, Cape Breton, Irish and Spanish traditions, ESPE tells the tale of a traveller through dance, song, text, crafts and music.

The work explores themes of identity, heritage, belonging, neurodiversity and bullying, and is emerging through sharing work-in-progress with communities in different geographic and social contexts.

During the workshop you can expect to be guided through some of the processes Jen uses to explore and develop new thematic movement material that sits at the intersection of traditional and contemporary dance, integrating storyline, rhythm and song or text.

📆Wednesday 27 May 2026
🕐11:00-12:30
🎟️Free

Book your spot! https://loom.ly/hI3LL2Q

06/05/2026

Call Out! 📢 Eadrainn / Between Us - International Residencies

Dance Ireland and Dance Base Scotland are delighted to offer two fully resourced reciprocal residencies for one Ireland-based and one Scotland-based artist.

Eadrainn / Between Us is a programme of creative exchange that builds on the existing relationship between Dance Ireland and Dance Base Scotland to provide an opportunity to connect artists across both organisations and countries, to share practice, and to develop an ecology of exchange and collegial support.

Artists will receive:

- Artist Fee of €1,560/£1,350
- One week residency 16 – 20 November 2026, at either DanceHouse, Dublin (for Scotland-based artist) or Dance Base, Edinburgh (for Ireland-based artist)
- Four additional days of reflection and networking time
- Travel costs, accommodation and per diems for the residency week
- Networking, advice and support from the host organisations

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 2 June by 17:00

Find out more: https://loom.ly/fnEaTKk

With thanks to funding from the Scottish Government in Ireland, and the Consulate General of Ireland, Edinburgh

05/05/2026

This Sunday: Youth Workshop - Introduction to Classical Indian Dance! 💫

Join South Asian dance specialists, Theiya Arts, for an introduction to Classical Indian Dance for young people!

📅 Sunday 10 May
🕝 11:30 (90 min)
🎟️ Tickets: £10
🩰 Level: Beginner (12-18 yrs)

In this playful exploration of India’s classical dance forms, you will learn different ways to move and communicate creatively—grounded in strong technique, rhythm, and storytelling.

Specially designed for young people aged 12-18.

https://loom.ly/FwKoKj8

In this playful exploration of India’s classical dance forms, you will learn different ways to move and communicate creatively—grounded in strong technique, rhythm, and storytelling.

04/05/2026

Stickers! ⭐

To celebrate 25 years in our purpose-built home on Edinburgh's Grassmarket, Dance Base has commissioned artist Thea Bryant to create some bangin' stickers - available by donation at the Dance Base front desk!

Donations will help us maintain our home for many years to come - grab yours today!

📸 Neil Hanna