Independent Dance

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Independent Dance

ID runs an international programme of classes, workshops, research labs, events and talks.

Independent Dance (ID) is the UK's leading artist development organisation for dance. Founded in 1984, it has been artist-led ever since, working responsively to support dance artists in all roles, of all physicalities, and at all stages of career. We work with an international community, with a particular focus on inclusive body-based research enriched by cross-disciplinary and diverse approaches

. Through our year-round programme, we offer paid work to on average 80 artists every year. Our public programme includes classes and workshops, research spaces, talks and exchanges, led by internationally-renowned artists and inviting artists and audiences to deepen enquiry and exchange ideas. ID receives funding from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) as part of a consortium with Siobhan Davies Dance, whose building we are based in. In 2019-20, ID’s portion of this funding is £71,068, which covers most of our core operating costs; salaries of our four part-time staff, office rent and administrative overheads which we aim to keep to a minimum. In addition, we raise funds through trusts and foundations and through individual donations. Our artistic programme exists on an income-generating basis, with earnings from curating and delivering an extensive programme aiming to cover costs.

28/08/2026

We hope you're enjoying your summer! ⁠🌻
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We wanted to let you know about our e-flyer ahead of our Autumn programme starting this September. ⁠
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Our e-flyer is an opportunity to connect with ID outside of social media, be the first to hear about upcoming programming and receive featured resources and opportunities with a focus on artist development, learning and research. ⁠
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A reminder of our upcoming programme:
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👉️ Our full Autumn class programme opens on Wednesday 2 September⁠ at 11am, with classes starting back the week commencing on Monday 21 September.

👉️ Tuning Practice with SERAFINE1369, a workshop that invites you to honour dancing as a wild and sacred relational devotional practice of moving energy. Next session is this Sunday 30 August 4-6pm, then Sunday 4 October, 4-6pm.

👉 *sold out now* Mid Life Coffee Morning⁠ + Making your last piece: a workshop with Seke Chimuntengwende, Saturday 11 September.

📬 And there is plenty more coming... So join our mailing list and get our twice a month e-flyer via https://independentdance.co.uk/join-our-mailing-list/⁠
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Photo Credit: International Festival of Learning, A Gathering 2022. Cheniece Warner

[Image Description: A person wearing a black t-shirt with striped long sleeves. They are in a wide stance, looking away from the camera with their right arm resting on their right shoulder and their left shoulder outstretched. They're dancing.]

12/08/2026

From our Digital Library: Dive into The nature of the body: somatics, poetics, art and therapy with Miranda Tufnell and Eva Karczag from Crossing Borders 2011, presented in partnership with London Contemporary Dance School 🔊

Both artists come together to speak sensitively about their own long practices and collaborations through the body, and their search for ‘a wholistic approach to this body-mind being’.

🔗 To listen to this talk and more, head to: https://independentdance.co.uk/library/miranda-tufnell-and-eva-karczag-dance-artists/

ℹ️ Audio transcription is also available on the webpage.

👋 If you're interested in this talk, you may also be interested in our current workshop series we're hosting this summer with Eva, 'Reimagining Form: Entering Masunaga’s Reclining Meridian Stretches Anew', inviting you to slow down to 'slower than slow', reaching into the synergistic and omni-directional movement that lies at the heart of Masunaga’s proposals.

📚 Our Digital Library holds texts, audio, and film material from the past 19 years of our 40+ year history and draws from work ID has programmed or with which ID has a direct connection. By re-releasing this archive and creating this digital space as a home for documentation of our programme and research, ID aims to create a non-academic, dance research resource which is freely available to all.

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[Image Description: Blue text on a white background reads: 'The nature of the body: somatics, poetics, art and therapy with Miranda Tufnell and Eva Karczag (2011)'. Underneath, in white text it reads: 'The two artists speak sensitively about their own long practices and collaborations through the body, and their search for ‘a wholistic approach to this body-mind being’. In a meandering conversation, they move through the Alexander technique, explore the roots of the word soma, poetics of movement practice and the wild allure of watching a performer who is tasting each moment. Listen, read and watch more at: independentdance.co.uk/library'. To the right of the text is a vertical blue and white wavy strip.

11/08/2026

Isobel Adderley, 2023 alum from the MA/MFA Creative Practice: Dance Professional, shares how the programme fed into what she is doing post-study:

"I think the MFA was not only a way of reconnecting with my art practice, but a way of connecting with myself, with my inner workings. I think I am forever changed by this course. Despite it being a movement course, it has led me to writing, and I can see myself using the tools I have learnt in embodied practice to write poetry and stories!"

💭 Intrigued? Find out more about the MA/MFA Creative Practice: Dance Professional held at Siobhan Davies Studios, visit https://independentdance.co.uk/ma-mfa-creative-practice/

This programme is led by Trinity Laban in partnership with Independent Dance and Siobhan Davies Studios. ⁠

[Image description: Isobel stands behind a thin peach-toned curtain, forearms parting the curtains, fingers pointing in opposition. Text reads: I think the MFA was not only a way of reconnecting with my art practice, but a way of connecting with myself, with my inner workings. I think I am forever changed by this course. Despite it being a movement course, it has led me to writing, and I can see myself using the tools I have learnt in embodied practice to write poetry and stories. Isobel Adderley, MFA Creative Practice: Dance Professional 2023]

20/07/2026

☀️ What a summer class programme! Thank you to all the artists who shared their practices with us this season:

Fernanda Muñoz Newsome, Théïa Maldoom, Eve Stainton, Jessica Lerner, Katye Coe, Pepa Ubera, Kathy Crick, emilyn claid, Ryan Munroe, Matthias Sperling, Flora Baltz, Stopgap Dance Company, Claire Loussouarn, Annie Edwards, Daniel Hay-Gordon, Isaac Ouro-Gnao, Becky Namgauds, Rebecca Mackenzie, Adam Moore, Attila Andrási, Jose Agudo + Chevon Edwards.

✨ We also want to thank all who supported our Summer programme, whether that be attending class, giving feedback, engaging in discussions, or sharing ID's programme with your communities. ⁠

ℹ️ We are currently taking a break for the summer, and classes will return on 21 September 2026. Booking for the Autumn class programme opens Wednesday 2 September 2026, 11am.⁠

📷 Image Credits: 1 Théïa Maldoom Photo by Joël Vogt 2 Fernanda Munoz Newsome. Photo by Anne Tetzlaff 3 Jessica Lerner, Photo by Pete Evans. 4 Eve Stainton Photo by Anne Teflaff 5 Katye Coe Photo by Neil Horsley 6 Pepa Ubera, photo by Noemie Reijnen 7 Kathy Crick in Audio Dancing, a project by Gaby Agis. Photo by Derek Linzey 8 emilyn claid SKINNED, Venice International Performance Art Week 2024. Photo by Fenia Kotsopoulou. 9 Ryan Munroe Photo by Bobby Cray 10 Matthias Sperling, No-How Generator 2019. Photo by Camilla Greenwell. 11 Flora Baltz. Photo by Berenice Guzzo. 12 + 13 Stopgap Dance Company. Photo by Chris Parkes 14 Daniel Hay-Gordon photo by Rosie Powell. 15 Annie Edwards. Photo Rocio Chacon 16 Claire Loussouarn photo by Dominique Rivoal 17 Becky Namgauds Photo by Camilla Greenwell 18 Isaac Ouro Gnao Photo by Tobi Izedomi 19 Adam Moore, Bright Dynasty, Phoenix Artspace, 2022. Photo by Phoebe Wingrove 20 Rebecca MacKenzie Photo by Dick Blau 21 Attila Andrasi. Photo by Sarah Howells. 22 Jose Agudo. Photo by Tanzfabrik Koone. 23 Chevon Edwards. Photo Natalie Wootton.

[Image description: a collage of the 22 artists who shared their practices with ID in our summer class programme.]

16/07/2026

📢 We've released more dates for Tuning Practice with SERAFINE1369! Join them and honour dancing as a wild and sacred relational devotional practice of moving energy ⚡

📅 Sunday 2 August, 30 August, Sunday 4 October, 4-6pm
🔗 More information and booking via https://independentdance.co.uk/event/tuning-practice-with-serafine1369/

SERAFINE1369 will offer simple invitations to dance, allowing space for the complexities of experience and relation to emerge as material. Rather than steering or directing us towards an elsewhere, or somewhere specific and inviting a curiosity about what is already t/here.

👉 There are 2 free bursary places per session for QTIPOC (Q***r, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour). These places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. To register your interest, email [email protected] and let us know which date you would like to attend. ⁠

Photo Credit: Rowan Powell.

[Image description: 1 An image of light pink text on a dark pink background, that reads Dropping into the realm(s) of embodied presence and reclaiming imagination as a flexible and elaborative technology and not a seat of anxiety, anticipation and fear. In the bottom left corner, in the same text: Tuning Practice with SERAFINE1369. Sunday 2 August, 4-6pm. In the bottom right corner is the ID logo. 2. Someone lies face down in a climbing position on a dance studio floor. The photograph is slightly blurry and yellow-toned.]

15/07/2026

Join us for a Mid Life Coffee Morning⁠ with Seke Chimuntengwende this September and engage with light prompts, group discussions and socialising 🍵

This is a space for dance artists who are in “mid life” to connect with each other and share their experiences, questions and desires from working in dance for many years.⁠
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📅 ⁠Saturday 12 September, 10:30am–12:30pm⁠
🎟️ Free to attend, booking required.⁠
🔗 Book to attend the Mid Life Coffee Morning via https://independentdance.co.uk/event/mid-life-coffee-morning-with-seke-chimutengwende/
.. and refreshments will be provided! 🥐

Photo Credit: The Last Quartet rehearsals at Choreodrome at The Place 2023, photo credit Jemima Yong.

[Image Description: A landscape image of Seke Chimutengwende, Temitop Ajose and Matthias Sperling in a studio space. On the right, Seke is wearing a red t-shirt with his arms extended and palms facing outwards to the left on the photo. In the center, Temitope is wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and dark pants, is captured mid-motion, with one leg raised and arms in a dynamic pose. On the right, Matthias stands facing to the left, wearing a dark long-sleeved shirt and dark pants, with his arms extended and palms facing outwards. The lighting is bright and diffuse, creating a clean and airy environment.]

14/07/2026

🍵 Join us this Wednesday, 15 July, 12noon-1pm for a cuppa and chat as we mull over and reflect together on:

💬 What feels urgent to you, as an independent artist right now?

💬 What role does Independent Dance have in supporting the people in our sector to do more than simply survive?

We’d love to hear from you; our community, collaborators, co-conspirators, allies and friends as we continue this venture of reflection and re-imagining for ID!

📌A reminder that you can share your thoughts with us in alternative formats by:
- Filling out our feedback form linked in our bio
- Sending us an email to [email protected] with the subject, - - Sending us a letter to Independent Dance, Siobhan Davies Studios, 85 St. George’s Road, London, SE1 6ER⁠ or
- Contact info@ for an informal chat with a member of the team: Nicky, Renée or Cheniece

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[Image Description: 1 An image of two cups of tea on a wooden table surrounded by a variety of books. Overlayed in Navy text on a lime green background, it reads Tuning In: Chats. In the lower right corner is the ID logo. 2 Green text on a blue background reads: Join us this Wednesday, 15 July for a cuppa and chat about what artists need as we are in an exciting period of reflections and re-imagining! We’d love to hear from our community, collaborators, co-conspirators, allies and friends. In the bottom left corner, it reads: Find out more about Tuning In: A Time for Reflection and Re-imagining of Independent Dance at www.independentdance.co.uk]

09/07/2026

Eva Karczag invites you to slow down to slower than slow and explore Masunaga’s Reclining Meridian Stretches through the lens of body-mind awareness approaches online this summer ☀️

📅 Fridays, 17 July – 11 September, 8am-9.30am⁠ (BST, UK time)⁠
🎟️ £12 per session⁠
📍Online, via Zoom⁠
🔗 Book via https://independentdance.co.uk/event/reimagining-form-entering-masunagas-reclining-meridian-stretches-anew-with-eva-karczag/2026-07-17/

🔎 Discover more about Shizuto Masunaga and Meridian Exercises:

The gradual formation of the form that came to be known as Zen Shiatsu is primarily the work of Shizuto Masunaga. He was born in Kure, Hiroshima in 1925, graduating in psychology from Kyoto University and later from the Japan Shiatsu College. By 1968, he had established his own school and from there, with a group of dedicated students, he led the process of deconstruction and reconstruction which would eventually lead to the development of Zen Shiatsu, reintegrating the original core of spirituality and vital energy, crafting a system that merged ideas from Western psychology and physiology, traditional Chinese medicine and Zen Buddhism.

Masunaga calls the sequences one can practice alone or with a partner Zen Imagery Exercises, or in a later edition of his book, Meridian Exercises. He stresses that the aim is not simply to lengthen muscles – the experience should be one of extending and expanding all levels of our being. In this way, we can free the energy lying latent within us.

[Image Description: 1 Yellow text on a purple background that reads: Through discovering a more supported and deepened relationship with Masunaga’s Meridian Stretches, you can experience their potential to organise and invigorate body and mind. Then in the lower left corner it reads: Reimagining Form: Entering Masunaga’s Reclining Meridian Stretches Anew with Eva Karczag. Fridays, 17 July - 11 September. In the lower right corner is a yellow ID logo.]

08/07/2026

📣 Independent Dance is hiring!⁠
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Join our team as our Operations and Development Manager and play a pivotal role in the day-to-day operations of Independent Dance at an exciting period of development for the company.⁠
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⏱️ 3 days/week (0.6 FTE)⁠
📍 Office-based, London, SE1 6ER⁠
💰 £38k (pro rata)⁠
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The Operations and Development Manager will work closely with our interim Director and, in due course, a new Director. The post-holder will lead on operations, finance and fundraising to ensure ID’s effectiveness, financial stability and long-term sustainability.⁠ ⁠
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🔗 Head to the link in our bio for the full job pack, with audio and an abridged version available on our website here: https://independentdance.co.uk/about/vacancies/
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📅 Applications close: Tuesday 21 July, 5pm (BST, UK time)⁠

📨 Please help us spread the word to anyone you think might be interested in the role!
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[Image Description: A portrait image set in an orchard showing a group of around 20 people in vibrant coloured clothing, talking and eating. Some people are seated on the grass, and some are standing. The group are in partial shade and partial evening sunlight. Over the image is light pink text on a vibrant purple background that reads: Join our team! Operations and Development Manager. Applications close: Tuesday 21 July, 17:00 (BST, UK time). In the lower right corner is a light pink ID logo].

06/07/2026

Chevon Edwards leads our last Monday Night Improvisation of the summer class programme next week, exploring movement as an instinctual and experiential process, inviting participants to reconnect with their bodies through sensation, awareness and choice 🔎
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📅 Monday 13 July, 6.30-8pm⁠
🎟️ £10 / £8 with a class card⁠
🔗 Book via https://independentdance.co.uk/event/monday-night-improvisation-chevon-edwards/

Chevon's class centres on responding to internal and external cues, encouraging you to notice what is happening in your body and allow that awareness to guide your movement. Through a series of open tasks and guided explorations, you will play with pace, shifting between slow, attentive movement and more dynamic responses.
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Photo Credit: Natalie Wootton
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[Image Description: A warm mustard-toned image of Chevon, a brown-skinned woman with afro hair moving: her arms raised in the air and her expression is focused and internal. She wears a short-sleeved white shirt and brown trousers.]

Address

Independent Dance, Siobhan Davies Studios, 85 St George's Road
London
SE16ER

Website

http://www.independentdance.co.uk/

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