Dance City has successfully bid for and won a capital grant from Arts Council England it was announced today.

Through a grant of £198,608 Dance City will be able to provide better facilities and resources to its customers, artists and students.

Dance City – the North East’s leading dance organisation – offers a wide range of services to the community from public dance classes for those of all ages and abilities, to dance performances in its theatre. It provides support to dance artists based in the region, programmes for schools and community groups and professional dance training opportunities, as well as an extensive education programme.

The developments will include new studio flooring throughout the building’s five purpose-built dance studios. A new lighting system, to reduce the carbon footprint and create a more conducive environment.  There will also be a new mini 60 seat venue for the development of smaller-scale dance works offering opportunities to try out new works over longer periods of time. The new space will sit within Dance City’s existing 250 seat dance theatre space. The grant will also enable Dance City to install new energy efficient boiler and heating systems in the building, again reducing carbon emissions and making Dance City more financially sustainable and environmentally sound. The new developments bring opportunities for Dance City to increase its earned income and future resilience.

Dance City is one of 12 organisations across the North to benefit from the latest round of the Arts Council’s small scale capital awards, a programme that invests in buildings and equipment to increase organisation’s resilience and enable them to offer improved experiences for both artists and the public.

Anthony Baker, Dance City Artistic Director and Joint CEO said:

“It’s really exciting to be able to invest money in the building after 10 years of being open. The Dance City building is well-used and well-loved by the community and we’re delighted to be able to provide even better facilities and services. We’ll also be creating exciting new opportunities for artists through our new smaller venue. Being able to install a more energy efficient boiler and heating system means greater efficiency and savings which we will be able to reinvest into the art form”.

Jane Tarr, Director North, Arts Council England said:

“Dance City is a leading national dance agency and this grant will help it make much needed upgrades to the building which will be environmentally sustainable and reduce costs, improving the resilience of the business and helping people to enjoy the fantastic classes and performance programme for years to come.”