Who We Are

DanceDigital is the national organisation for Dance and Technology based in Chelmsford in the East of England. Founded in 1988 by Fern Potter, essexdance was conceived as a regional dance development agency to improve standards in dance education and training in Essex. In 1997, under Kari O’Nions essexdance began its specialisation in Dance and Technology receiving a grant in 2002 from the Regional Arts Lottery Programme to develop the use of motion capture in dance. In 2005 essexdance merged with Dance in Herts to increase its output over 2 counties.

In 2007 under Artistic Director Anthony Baker, the organisation began its transformation into DanceDigital, setting up the Create Dance Studio to facilitate artistic exchange and build on our long standing legacy.

In recent years, DanceDigital has transformed itself into the only national dance agency specialising in Dance and Technology. Our Artistic programme has supported over 150 choreographers through a range of commissions, residencies, bursaries, professional training and an Associate Artist scheme.

What We Do

Our Artistic and Learning programmes are closely aligned, introducing professional choreographers and independent dance artists to the public through an annual series of installations, workshops, performances and events to enrich and inspire the young dancers of tomorrow.

Our Learning programme ensures that we run an active education programme for young people, including 2 senior youth dance companies (Focus and InPulse) and 3 junior dance companies (Shift: North, Shift: East and Shift: West). Our commitment to dance in education remains a strong core value for the organisation and we support the work of schools in Essex and Hertfordshire through our Dance Development Workers.

Today, DanceDigital offers residencies and Associate Artist schemes for choreographers and technologists working in a wide range of media. DanceDigital’s Create Dance Studio is open every day with choreographers working onsite to develop new projects and creating work for open discussion that includes free exhibitions, symposia, participatory workshops and live performance.

Who We Work With

DanceDigital works closely with a number of key stakeholders to deliver its Artistic and Learning programmes. These are Arts Council England East, Essex County Council, Chelmsford Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council and M&G Investments. DanceDigital thanks these organisations for their ongoing support and looks forward to developing its programme in partnership with them in the future.