10/02/2026
We didn’t take home the One Dance UK Dance Sector Spotlight award this weekend — but being shortlisted meant more to us than we can easily say.
It was a privilege for Reece McMahon (Executive Director), Frances Morgan (Artist Community Producer) & So’l Jelenke (CDS Artist Committee member) to be there representing !
This recognition belongs to the incredible people who make up Chisenhale Dance Space: our staff, trustees, artist committee, founders, alumni and of course the 300 artists across London and the UK who form our artist community.
A few years ago, CDS nearly closed. Like so many organisations, we struggled through and after Covid. We genuinely believe the only reason we’re still here is because artists fought for this space — with passion, care, and determination. They took time to reimagine what CDS could be: how it might better support artists, gather community, and act as glue in an increasingly precarious sector. We believe artists know what they need, and that they are the drivers of change.
For over 40 years, CDS has made space for artists to lead, experiment, and create. In the last five years, we’ve paused to seriously interrogate what being artist-led really means.
We’ve radically shifted our governance, creating a paid artist committee working alongside our board and staff team, and reimagined our artist community to enable meaningful collective decision-making. We’ve also reoriented our relationship to the work we support — prioritising artist autonomy over traditional models of “development”, and striving for minimal gatekeeping.
These changes have been shaped by a multiplicity of voices. CDS began as a home for practices on the margins, and in 2022 we committed to supporting artists marginalised by racism and ableism, and historically excluded from decision-making in our building and beyond. We want to thank the many brilliant artists and committee members who have led this work — far too many to name, though we hold you all close!
Much of this work happens quietly, behind the scenes. Being shortlisted has given us a moment to share and celebrate it more publicly.
CDS is only as strong as its community. We exist because artists want us to exist: because they gather here to dance, make, support one another, and imagine a more caring, connected dance sector.
Thank you for this recognition. It affirms that grassroots spaces matter. DIY spaces matter. And artist leadership matters.
