South East Dance opened the doors of The Dance Space last summer after advocating for a dedicated dance space for over 12 years.
South East Dance was established in 1997 to support dance artists based in the South East region to develop their careers. In 2000 they became a member of the UK Dance Network and an Arts Council England Regularly Funded Organisation, extending their role to work nationally and internationally. And in 2022, they realised a 10-year dream of opening Brighton & Hove’s first building created especially for dance, The Dance Space.
Executive Director of South East Dance, Rachel Gibson says that this achievement was ‘enormously gratifying. To finally be able to welcome the local community, people from across the city, and artists from the South East region and beyond into this beautiful new home for dance.’
South East Dance’s mission is simple: it’s to make dance happen for everybody. Dance that is bold and diverse. Dance that helps us make sense of the world we live in. Dance that makes a difference. They support people to discover their own relationship with dance, working with them to create the kind of activities they want. And they will work with artists who are committed to taking creative risks, pushing boundaries and challenging perceptions of what dance is and can be.
Gibson also highlights the importance of what South East Dance do for the community: ‘Giving people, particularly those who may not have had the opportunity or the confidence to dance before, to engage in dance in their own way is central to what we do at South East Dance. Seeing someone, be that a nursery school child or an older person with dementia, finding their own way to dance and express themselves never ceases to be inspiring and moving.’
South East Dance work closely with many other arts and cultural providers across Brighton & Hove, the South East and beyond. They constantly strive to give all those they work with the highest possible level of care and individual attention, enabling them to make their own dance on their own terms.
You can learn more about South East Dance, the Dance Space, or the work they’re involved in here. If you’d like to join South East Dance and 871 (and counting) employers in the local Living Wage campaign, then sign up today for free.
An honest days work, for an honest days pay.
Everyone deserves more
As a company, we promote conscious consumerism and encourage people to know who made their products and where they came from. We try our hardest to ensure the brands we stock have ethical and transparent supply chains and that everyone is treated fairly and paid fairly along these supply chains. We support Fair Trade products…
Brighton & Hove Albion FC and our charitable arm, Albion in the Community have paid the Living Wage to our employees for several years so it made perfect sense to sign up to the Living Wage Campaign. We are a club with strong values and high professional standards - we recognise that our competitive advantage…
"Everyone should get paid fairly for a fair days work, and fairness involves reflecting the cost of living in the way you pay people. Its basic human decency, really."
