Recent Dance Graduate Programme 2021-2022

with Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room

Arts Practice
Deadline: 16.08.2021
Published: 19.07.2021

Leaving college and making your first moves into a dance career can be challenging at any time and this year will be even more complicated. Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room are active in nurturing a thriving and diverse ecology of dance in Scotland. Together, we will support 3-4 recent dance graduates with the aim of supporting emerging dance artists make the transition from training and navigate the early stages of their careers in Scotland.

The Programme

With COVID-19, we have shifted and adapted many aspects of our programme. Whilst we will be looking to deliver the majority of activities face-to-face this year, there may still be need to deliver some elements of our programme online. We can commit to the selected graduates receiving:

– One year of free membership to The Work Room & access to their membership programme;
– Individual mentoring session with Natasha Gilmore (Artistic Director & choreographer of Barrowland Ballet) and/ or Anita Clark (Director of The Work Room);
– Matching with a professional ‘buddy’ from the independent dance scene in Scotland;
– Shadowing opportunities with Barrowland Ballet (in the current year, this has included creative programmes with schools and with Wolf Pack, Barrowland Ballet’s Intergenerational Company)

We also envisage regular participation in our professional contemporary dance classes, which run weekly in Glasgow, as a key part of the Recent Dance Graduate programme. These will resume in September 2021 and take place outdoors on Thursday and Friday mornings.

Who can apply

To be eligible for this opportunity you must:

– Have graduated in a dance subject at HND level or above in 2020 or 2021
– Be based in Scotland, with eligibility to work in the UK for at least the next 12 months

Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room recognise there are barriers to progressing in a dance career and that these challenges are felt more acutely by some people. We especially welcome applications from those who identify as having characteristics currently under-represented within the dance sector in Scotland including disabled people, those with parental responsibilities, those from Black and minority ethnic communities and those from working-class backgrounds.

Please include within your application information on any access support that you would require to fully participate in the programme.

How to apply:

Please send the following information to apply@barrowlandballet.co.uk by 5.30pm on Monday 16 August 2021.

– Your contact details (name, email address and phone number)
– Your recent studies (name of course, place of study, qualification achieved) and some personal reflections on this experience
– A short statement (less than 300 words) on your hopes for a career in dance and what you would be seeking gain from participating in this programme with Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room, to assist in this transition.
– A link to video footage (max 5mins) of you dancing – this can be in performance, in class or in your bedroom. We are not interested in the quality of the video but want to see how you move.

All applicants will receive an email confirming your application has been accepted.

Applications will be reviewed by the Artistic Director of Barrowland Ballet and the Director of The Work Room, with all applicants informed of the outcome no later than the end of August 2021.