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Dear Supporter, welcome to your October 2015 newsletter!

EVOLVE London takes place at the Royal Opera House

On Sunday 11th October we were delighted to be joined by 36 dancers at the Royal Opera House for EVOLVE London, delivered in partnership with DCD Contributing Company The Royal Ballet.

Such an inclusive environment, very interesting and met some absolutely great people!

Our landmark fifth EVOLVE workshop saw DCD Retrained Dancers Jaimie Persson and Jonathan Goddard sharing their stories and experiences to a group of dancers who represented almost all corners of the sector - from classical ballet and contemporary artists to musical theatre and commercial dancers.

It was liberating and reassuring to share this path with so many others.

Thank you for a wonderful, insightful day.

Our next EVOLVE workshop will be announced shortly, so watch this space!

Our thanks go to all our valued supporters of the EVOLVE project.

Photos: DCD Retrained Dancer, Nicole Guarino

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DCD Retrained Dancers Chloe Wilkinson and Simon Harper make thrilling fundraising efforts

We are so grateful to DCD Retrained Dancers Chloe Wilkinson and Simon Harper who have been taking on some exciting challenges to raise money for Dancers' Career Development.

Chloe Wilkinson, who is completing an MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy, ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon in London on Sunday 11th October. Sponsor Chloe here and read more about her story.

Simon Harper is an arts focused media and PR specialist, and will be donning his false eyelashes to perform as a mystery lady with Les Ballets Trockedero de Monte Carlo at the Wales Millennium Centre on Friday 16th October! Sponsor Simon here.

Thank you both so much.

Got an idea of how you could fundraise for DCD? Let us know!

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Team DCD run the Spotlight 10k Challenge

A big thank you to the team of eight dancers, supporters and DCD staff, including Christopher Hampson, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of DCD Contributing Company Scottish Ballet, who ran the Spotlight 10k Challenge on Sunday 13th September in Regents Park.

The event took place in aid of Acting for Others, the umbrella organisation that represents 15 theatrical charities, including Dancers’ Career Development. So far the DCD team have raised £1,306.84, which will go directly towards our work supporting all professional dancers in the UK to navigate a positive career transition. You can still support the team here.

Thank you to all of the runners and those who came out in support of the team.

Team DCD are kindly sponsored by BLOCH.

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Celebratory evening in partnership with DCD Contributing Company English National Ballet at Sadler's Wells

On Wednesday 9th September DCD were delighted to host a celebratory evening in partnership with English National Ballet, where guests enjoyed a performance of ENB's award winning triple bill Lest We Forget.

DCD Trustees and staff were honoured to be joined by special guest Arlene Phillips CBE and over 120 supporters, friends and colleagues from organisations from across the UK, as well as many DCD retrained dancers including Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, Farooq Chaudry, Dane Hurst, Daria Klimentová and Isabel Mortimer.

The evening celebrated DCD’s decades of providing career transition services to all UK-based dancers and introduced DCD’s new Chair, Zoë van Zwanenberg.

Thank you to all those who attended the event and to our colleagues at English National Ballet and Sadler’s Wells.

Photo: DCD Retrained Dancer, Pierre Tappon

BBC Young Dancer Workshop

On Friday 18th September DCD welcomed Jacob O’Connell, Vidya Patel and competition winner Connor Scott to Sadler’s Wells for a bespoke EVOLVE workshop, delivered by DCD Director of Coaching Isabel Mortimer.

I left the workshop feeling so inspired. Being able to listen to professionals and their first-hand experiences was such an eye opener about what is like to be a dancing professional as well as how to cope in an industry that may seem grueling. It was a super day! (Vidya Patel, BBC Young Dancer Competition Finalist)

We were privileged to be joined by Michael Stojko, former First Artist with The Royal Ballet, who spoke with the finalists about his career to date. Michael trained at The Royal Ballet School and performed with the DCD Contributing Company The Royal Ballet for 17 years, retiring at the end of the 2014/15 season. We also welcomed Dane Hurst, an award winning dancer with DCD Contributing Company Rambert Dance Company, who talked with the dancers about his experiences.

The EVOLVE workshop is part of the aftercare package designed and delivered by DCD specifically for the six BBC Young Dancer Competition finalists.

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Visits to companies

In recent weeks we have had the pleasure of visiting DCD Contributing Companies Richard Alston Dance Company and Scottish Ballet to update dancers and staff on DCD's support and developments.

I always feel more reassured after a DCD session. (James Muller, Richard Alston Dance Company)

DCD Retrained Dancer, Deirdre Chapman shared her career insights at Richard Alston Dance Company, while former Scottish Ballet principal and DCD Retrained Dancer, Tama Barry, joined us in our visit to Glasgow.

We also visited Wayne McGregor | Random Dance in September, accompanied by DCD Retrained Dancer and Osteopath, Leon Baugh.

Thank you to all three dancers for their generosity of time and honesty.

If you'd like to arrange a DCD visit to your company, please contact us.

Photo: DCD Retrained Dancer, Amber Hunt

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Donate to boundless

Support a professional dancer to navigate career transition through the boundless appeal.

Help us to raise £6,000 to provide two Financial Retraining Grants, allowing professional dancers to expand upon their unique skills and strengths and gain additional experience and expertise in the career field of their choice.

Watch our appeal film

Thinking of applying for a Financial Retraining Grant?

The next deadline is Wednesday 11th November at 5pm.

Please contact Ellen Chambers, Grants and Careers Officer, on 020 7831 1449 or ellen@thedcd.org.uk to discuss your plans.

How to apply

Coming up...

Visit to The Royal Ballet School third year students 26/10/15
Dance Teachers' Mentoring Programme Training Day 28/10/15
Visit to The Royal Ballet School second year students 11/11/15

Photo: Amber Hunt

What's On

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Thank you

Dancers' Career Development is kindly supported by the following Contributing Companies:
Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Richard Alston Dance Company, Scottish Ballet and The Royal Ballet

The Dancers' Career Development Independent Trust is generously supported by:
The Linbury Trust, The Society of London Theatre, Equity Charitable Trust,
The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, Combined Theatrical Charities and The Mackintosh Foundation.

Dancers' Career Development
Plouviez House
19-20 Hatton Place
London EC1N 8RU
020 7831 1449

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