26 May 2026
A ten-year programme which brought leading dance artists to rural communities has been heralded a major success.
Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) was launched in 2015 to address the absence of dance in rural spaces.
It went on to deliver a decade of enriching dance experiences in unexpected locations the length and breadth of the UK, proving itself a viable and sustainable touring model in a challenging climate for small-scale touring.
The mesmerising decade of dance which moved minds
“We couldn’t have imagined the ripples this project would have…”
The statistics for the programme are impressive: A total of 421 dance shows took place delivered by 55 different dance companies. Across more than 400 different venues, 20000 people attended an RTDI dance show.
Of those audiences 98% said they enjoyed the show while 85% said they wanted to see more dance.
RTDI simultaneously inspired audiences and artists while proving that dance can be part of a vibrant cultural offer in rural communities.
As this manifestation of RTDI comes to an end this month (June 2026) the impact of the programme is felt far beyond the village hall, community centre and library.
RTDI was born from a partnership of The Place, National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF), China Plate Theatre and Take Art. In 2022 the alliance was bolstered by Highlights Rural Touring Scheme and Sonia Sabri Co.
Christina Elliot Head of Programming & Producing at The Place (pictured below) said: “When we began working on RTDI more than 10 years ago we couldn’t have imagined the ripples the project would have across The Place’s programmes, and beyond across the dance sector.
“It has opened up many rich conversations with audiences, producers and artists about how dance can transform communities, influencing our approaches to audience development, commissioning, touring and artist support.
“We are so proud that RTDI has ignited a love of dance in audiences across the UK who wouldn’t otherwise have encountered it in their local spaces, and we’re deeply grateful to all the schemes, promoters, other volunteers and, above all, the artists who have made these extraordinary moments happen.
“Ten years on, many more dance artists see rural touring as a vital part of how they share their work with communities around the country and this will be a lasting legacy.”
From the start, RTDI introduced some of the UK’s leading dance companies to rural touring including Lost Dog, Luca Silvestrini’s Protein, Uchenna Dance, Scottish Dance Theatre, Jo Fong and Pagrav Dance, as well as early career artists including Ekleido, Bobak Champion and Vanhulle Dance.
“Dance initiated conversations in unexpected ways..”
Those artists played a part in transforming UK rural dance touring. Audiences were treated to everything from global dance forms to joyful family comedies to shows which addressed urgent questions for society such as death or discrimination.
Alongside the shows, many artists became further embedded in communities by delivering workshops or talks. Dance became an alternative way to talk about important topics.
Christina Elliot added: “Those wraparound activities prompted vital conversations which were critical to the encounters between artists and audiences. Audiences felt invited to ask and be curious.
“One show – Little Murmur by Aakash Odedra Company (pictured above) tells the story of growing up with dyslexia and was aimed at young audiences. This work gave families another way to talk about neurodivergence. It’s an example of dance initiating conversations in unexpected but powerful ways.”
“RDTI has raised the bar of bringing dance into smaller spaces”
Abigail Reeve, Director of the National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF), said “As we see the end of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative in its current format we are delighted to be celebrating its extensive and wide ranging impact.
“Dance is a universal language and the wide range of work presented by RTDI over the last decade has raised the bar of bringing dance into smaller spaces.
“Across our network of partners we have seen high levels of engagement and an increase in confidence across community promoters and audiences to embrace and embed dance.
“We look forward to supporting dance as a key artform in the mix of the rural touring menus and where the learning of RTDI may take us for the next decade is an exciting proposition.”
Insipring audiences of all ages
In RTDI’s most recent spring programme, a workshop delivered by dance artist Jamaal O’Driscoll (pictured above right) stole the hearts of a Cumbrian classroom.
Adie, a seven-year-old schoolgirl took part in the session and later wrote a letter to the artist on behalf of her classmates:
“Dear Jamaal, a huge thank-you for coming to do breakdance with us. We had so much fun. Everyone had a smile on their face. We are so happy to have met Jamaal and everyone learnt something new.”
RTDI delivered for audiences unaccustomed to dance. At some rural venues more than 75% of the audience had never seen dance before. Promoters at village halls began to see audiences clamoring to see more dance in their local spaces.
“Rural touring made me fall in love with the UK all over again.”
Ceyda Tanc Dance (pictured above) toured as part of RTDI in spring 2026. The all-female company presented KIZLAR, which draws on traditionally male Turkish folk dance and it was a massive hit with village hall audiences.
Jill Eastham – promoter at Lazonby Village Hall, Cumbria – said: “I was blown away – as was the entire audience. It was absolutely mesmerizing. The show was one hour long and I don’t think a single dance move was replicated.
“The expression and the movement was stunning. Words can’t really describe it. You just have to live it and feel it. The entire audience were invited to join in at the end – which they all did! I have never ever seen that response to anything in Lazonby before…”
Kate Lynch, Artistic Director Highlights Rural Touring, said: “Highlights has been proud to be a partner in RTDI and to witness first hand the transformational effect that dance can have.
“From a packed public hall in Appleby, Cumbria for a performance of James Wilton’s Leviathan to a beautiful sharing of music and dance with Memory Laners, a dementia support group in Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland; from a community curtain-raiser before a performance of Ceyda Tanc Dance’s Kizlar in Gilsland, rural Northumberland to a hip hop workshop with O’Driscoll Collective in a school in the most rural part of County Durham.
“RTDI has opened up dance to the most rural communities across the country, building confidence in venue promoters and engaging audiences with little previous experience in dance.”
Dance artists themselves began to see rural venues as an achievable and desirable part of their tour and a way to reach more people with their work. Programmers began to develop a confidence that they can put on dance and that if they do, people will come.
Bobak Champion toured his show ‘I’m Muslamic Don’t Panik’. He had a residency with Applause and then toured the country. The work sees storytelling meet dance, live music meet clowning. It’s an intimate spectacle of identity, where being British, Iranian, and a Hip-Hop head collide.
Bobak – pictured below – describes his experience through RTDI as “positive and moving”. In most places he would enlist community dancers to join him on stage.
He said: “So many times on tour we thought people wouldn’t show up in these very small remote places. But every single time they did. And they loved the show. We hung out afterwards with lots of great questions, stories, Persian tea and biscuits.
“Rural touring made me fall in love with the UK all over again. Seeking out independent coffee shops and book stores. Landscapes, language, dialect and communities just seemed warmer, more exciting and more beautiful than I expected.”
“It’s possible to make something complex happen when you commit over a long period.”
Ed Collier, Director of China Plate Theatre, believes RTDI was one of the inspirations for a new midscale touring project co-led with Fuel Theatre.
He said: “The RTDI achieved a really big national strategic ambition, with a mission to transform and affect an ecology of work across the country and that’s fantastically inspiring when thinking about other touring networks.
“As a producer seeing the ongoing success of RTDI in itself is important because you can understand it’s possible to make something complex happen when you commit over a long period, with a huge diversity of stakeholders from national agencies through to micro community level organisations.”
Ralph Lister, Executive Director, Take Art was integral in the setting up of RTDI more than a decade ago and says: “RTDI has established a habit among artists and audiences for contemporary dance in rural areas. Looking forward, the task is to mainstream this touring activity and to build on its success.”
Next month (9 June 2026) the National Rural Touring Forum conference will mark the success of RTDI with a special evening celebration of the project starring Sonia Sabri Company and Jamaal O’Driscoll.
A series of six podcasts have been produced by RTDI’s Beccy Lloyd. Rural Moves features interviews with key people involved over the last decade.
Each of the podcasts are around 35 minutes long. As well as telling the story of RDTI they will also work as learning tools for emerging artists. Rural Moves will be available on all major streaming sites from 9 June.
This podcast will be a lasting legacy for the decade dance came to the countryside, moved minds and became a model for sustainable touring.