Two pairs of tickets up for grabs to An American in Paris!

We are offering two lucky winners the chance to each win a pair of tickets to DCD’s Fundraising Gala Performance of the Award winning An American in Paris on 15th March 2017 at the newly refurbished historic Dominion Theatre in London!

For your chance to win:

• Just click here and donate £10 or more to our boundless appeal between now and 6th March
• Then email hanna@thedcd.org.uk with your name, email address and telephone number so we can contact you

And you will be entered into this special prize draw!

Two winners will receive a pair of tickets each including seats in the dress circle, as well as a programme and interval reception.

All proceeds will go towards supporting Independent Dancers across the UK, enabling these dancers to successfully transition into a post-performance career.

The draw will be on 7th March and the winners will be notified and announced.

The DCD Fundraising Gala is kindly supported by The Linbury Trust and The Mackintosh Foundation.

We're on the look out for volunteers to help us prepare for the Gala, so if you're a DCD supported dancer and would like to help out, get touch with Hanna!

DCD on the Road

The DCD team’s bags are packed as we’re going all over the country with our mid-season visits to our Contributing Companies!

From Birmingham to Glasgow and Leeds to London, we’re so thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with the companies’ dancers, with an update on all of our forthcoming events; insights into how we can support dancers and confidential one to one consultations with dancers exploring career transition.

Company dancers - look out for one to one consultation slots and sign-up sheets on your notice boards!

EVOLVE 2017 – Booking open!

EVOLVE returns to London this spring in partnership with DCD Contributing Company, Rambert.

Booking is now open - places are limited, so book today!

EVOLVE is a full day workshop for professional dancers exploring life after a dance career, offering practical tools, insight and inspiration.

Open to dancers from all genres of professional dance – from classical, contemporary to musical theatre and commercial.

You will have the opportunity to explore the journey of a dancer’s career with like-minded people; get the tools to develop your own personal action plan and discover your potential; learn how to manage a lifelong career beyond performance and be inspired by real life stories from DCD retrained dancers Lee Bamford, now Administration and HR Manager for Hofesh Shechter Company; and Miranda Lind, now a qualified specialist teacher for children with dyslexia​.

Here’s everything you need to know:

• Date: Sunday 23 April 2017
• Time: 9:30am - 5pm
• Venue: Rambert, 99 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PP
• Facilitated by: Isabel Mortimer, DCD Director of Coaching and former professional dancer
• Price: Early bird: £30 (until 31st March), Full price: £35 - includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

​Please contact us on 020 7831 1449 if cost is a barrier to you attending. Limited subsidised places are available.

Find out more about what happens at EVOLVE here.

This programme is kindly supported by the Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund.

A focus on the future, from wherever you are right now

Don’t miss the chance to register for DCD’s coaching for dancers.

DCD’s coaching sessions are a one on one conversation helping you find the clarity and confidence to move forward in your life and career.

These totally confidential sessions are available nationwide, to all professional dancers across the UK.

“A great way to regain focus. Finding out what it is that you want to do, and knowing what will help you move towards it”. DCD Supported Dancer

Our professional coaches will be in:

• Leeds on 1 March
• Glasgow on 20 March
• Birmingham on 27 March
• London throughout the year

Just £30 total for three, one hour sessions. Available in person or via Skype.

To find out more about coaching and whether it’s right for you, click here.

Photo credit: DCD supported dancer Pierre Tappon

Calling All Musical Theatre Dancers!

Apply for DCD’s Society of London Theatre (SOLT) Bursary - worth £5,000. The bursary supports professional dancers who have contributed significantly to London’s West End through their performance careers, to retrain into professions that are directly linked with the creative industries and in particular London’s thriving commercial theatre sector

DCD supports over 60 Musical Theatre dancers each year, who have performed in London’s West End in productions such as CATS, Phantom of the Opera and Matilda the Musical.

• Deadline: 29 March at 5pm
• How to Apply: Make sure to book a one to one consultation at least one week before you submit your application! Contact Ellen@thedcd.org.uk to book and find out more about how to apply here.

Also make sure to come along to DCD’s first ever EVOLVE workshop in London’s West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre, supported by Delfont Mackintosh on 20 November 2017. Find out more about EVOLVE.

Thinking of applying for a Financial Retraining Grant?

The next deadlines are:

• 29 March at 5pm
• 2 August at 5pm
• 8 November at 5pm

Make sure you book your one to one consultation at least one week before you submit your application!

For more information or to arrange a consultation in person, over the telephone or via Skype, please contact Ellen or call us on 020 7831 1449 to discuss your plans.

Photo credit: DCD supported dancer Andrew Ross

Morgann Runacre-Temple - DCD Transition Tales

Having trained at Central School of Ballet and London Contemporary Dance School, Morgann has performed for Ballet Ireland, English National Ballet, Rosie Kay Dance Company and the Curve Foundation. She now works as a freelance choreographer and filmmaker.  

"The skills we nurture as professional dancers are quite remarkable; the dedication, the attention to detail, the self-responsibility...those skills are transferable if we allow them to be."

Check out Morgann's Jess and Morgs Filmmakers latest work, the fantastic Curing Albrecht, commissioned by English National Ballet and Manchester International Festival:

Photo credit: DCD supported dancer Robert Gravenor