June 30, 2026
RTDI has been delivering extraordinary encounters between dance artists and communities for ten whole years this year!
At the National Rural Touring Forum conference in early June we celebrated with two showcase performances, a panel talk on dance in rural touring and even a silent disco. We also launched our exciting new podcast series Rural Moves, which you can find on all major streaming sites. A bit more about that later.
Sadly, the current funding for RTDI has come to an end and there will now be a short break while Take Art and the other RTDI3 partners work on exactly how to continue this essential work. That means that my time with Take Art has also finished. I wanted to sign off with a little round up of how much fun I’ve had co-ordinating the project in the South-West for the last three and a half years.
When I started working with Take Art in November 2022, my dance knowledge was limited to what I knew from murky memories of childhood classes, hours of dance movies and what you can learn from hundreds of hours waiting for your child to finish their rehearsals!
Since then, I’ve got to know 18 spectacular professional contemporary dance companies and seen 69 live performances at a whole host of venues across the region. I’ve enjoyed those shows alongside over 4000 audience members. I’ve visited 44 different towns and villages, returning more than once to 12 venues, where an appetite for dance has grown.
In Broadmayne, Dorset I’ve seen the same children, a year older each time, enjoy workshops with 3 different companies at the First School and visited the village hall enough times to feel like a regular! I’ve also seen the wonderful Movers and Shakers dancers, all aged 60+, there each year. They’ve enjoyed contemporary, Indian, Turkish folk/contemporary fusion and most recently breakdance workshops and performed in two community casts with RTDI. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know them all.
Around the shows we’ve engaged with hundreds of adults, children and young people through workshops, residencies and post-show events. RTDI is almost never just a show! We’ve been extremely lucky in the South-West especially to be able to respond to the demand for more dance with a whopping 9 residencies. By my back of an envelope calculations, we’ve created somewhere close to 400 hours of opportunities to dance for around 1000 people of all ages.
The hunger for more dance development work is undeniable. Activity has grown year on year and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive.
“It was lovely to dance with and meet you all yesterday. Your session was both relaxing and re-energising - just what we needed! The pace was good and we were challenged appropriately.” - Lyn Paine, Moversand Shakers
“I just want to thank you all for your support, patience, and expertise. I really want you all to know that the evening was an enormous success and the performance of the four dancers was outstandingly beautiful. The mixture of speed and stillness combined with exquisite hand/foot movements was breathtaking. Then of course there was the evocative music, which accompanied the dancing. The audience was on their feet at the end giving everyone a standing ovation - JUST MARVELLOUS!!” - Volunteer promoter, Sheepscombe
“Thank you once again for such a valuable experience. I very muchlook forward to future collaborations.” - Tutor, Weston College
For something to get your teeth into while we work on creating your next dance adventures, why not try our podcast? There is something for everyone whether you’re a newbie to dance (check out the Introduction first), a rural touring dance veteran, a producer, a regular attendee at your local venue, a dancer, or simply an all-round supporter of Take Art’s work.
Each episode looks at the experiences of people involved with RTDI from a different perspective. Hosts and their guests, many of whom you’ll recognise from previous RTDI shows and newsletter updates, dive into each topic for around 35 minutes.
Episode 1 Is it Dance? asks how audiences engage with dance from the very start – what do we choose for our menus and how do we describe it?
In Your Place or Mine, Episode 2, you’ll hear some familiar voices talk about touring with RTDI as dance artists and choreographers. Some funny stories in this one!
What Makes a Good Night Out in a rural context is the question behind Episode 3 and in Episode 4 we look at the pivotal role of the promoter in Curation in the Community.
RTDI’s approach to AudienceDevelopment is examined in more detail in Episode 5 and finally the threelead partners discuss What next? reflecting on what they’ve learnt andtheir hopes and intentions for the future of dance in rural areas.
I really hope you enjoy listening. We’d love to hear your feedback.
I’d really like to send a big thank you to everyone I’ve worked with on this project. You’ve all been amazing and achieved incredible things.
Goodbye, for now!
Beccy Lloyd
RTDI Coordinator
