5. Audience Development

Three of the lead partners of RTDI reflect on ten years of rural touring dance, the partnerships and networks that have grown around it, its impact on the dance touring ecology, audience development for dance and the work dance artists are making, what does it all mean for the future?

Christina Elliot (Head of Programming and Producing, The Place) returns to host episode 5 of the series and delve into how approaches to audience development that have been practised for many years in rural touring are gaining currency in other contexts. Christina asks what the ingredients to successful audience development are and how are they being employed across the sector.  

The structure of rural touring across the country varies but the role of the venue promoter, often a volunteer in their own community, is undoubtedly crucial to a successful event. Episode four in the series goes hyper-local and examines the role of this lynchpin, the venue promoter as curator, connector and cultural advocate

Rural touring is not just a way of presenting dance but a way of bringing people together. Episode 3 of the series explores how artists, producers and promoters have shaped performances into social occasions. We’ll ask what makes a good night out in a rural context, how do dance events sit within community life, and what does the wider sector have to learn from this?

In rural touring dance artists and their companies are invited to perform in unconventional spaces without the convenience and technical capacity of a traditional theatre tour. What challenges and benefits are there for the artist in this different way of working?

RTDI has been inviting audiences to experience dance in new ways for 10 years. We explore how we talk to audiences about something which is initially unfamiliar, and what we have learnt about overcoming barriers of language and perception, sharing some of the beautiful and extraordinary encounters artists and audiences have experienced along the way.  

A brief guide to the world of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative and what you can expect from this series.

Get a feel for the sound of the series with this short trailer