STOMPING GROUND COMMISSION CALL OUT 2025/26

TREAD by Walker Movement Theatre Company, photo by David Levene, GDIF

Stomping Ground is seeking proposals for bold and original dance works made for outdoor spaces for presentation in 2025/26 and beyond.

Stomping Ground is a commissioning group comprised of FABRIC, FESTIVAL.ORG, The Place, Strike A Light, Sismògraf Festival in Olot, Catalonia. We are delighted to welcome a new partner this year, Appetite, which is a Creative People and Places programme with a mission to get more people in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme to experience and be inspired by the arts.

We would like to hear from you if you want to develop ambitious, high-quality work, created for outdoor spaces that can grab the attention and imagination of audiences, and which elevates and explores ideas about social and environmental sustainability for the public.

Our understanding of what social and environmental sustainability encompasses is broad - we are interested in projects which demonstrate how they relate in a conscious and responsible way to the landscape in which they are made and performed and which communicate this in some way to the public. This commissioning focus is led by our partner, Sismograf Festival in Olot, Catalonia, and you can read more about their approach to programming here.

We are interested in a range of outdoor practices & presentation formats: we don’t necessarily equate scale to ambition; rather we are looking for ideas which are creatively ambitious. We are interested in supporting compelling ideas originally conceived for the outdoors that have a strong impact and engage across a broad audience base, and which integrate access for audiences in imaginative ways.

We welcome applications for work that could be presented in a range of contexts, whether urban, rural, festival or high street.

We are offering a commission of £22,000 towards an original work, and we expect that this will be for presentation from summer 2025 and beyond.

About the Call Out

Stomping Ground is seeking proposals for ideas that:

• Are originally conceived for outdoor performances, rather than indoor spaces.
• Are adaptable to various locations, with the potential to be scaled to meet different contexts, and should be designed with touring, including international touring, in mind.
• Elevate and explore ideas about social and environmental sustainability for the public
• Consider how outdoor performance can engage both committed attendees and passersby.
• Consider access in how they are made and how they communicate with an audience.
• We encourage applications from artists who don’t have experience in outdoor performances, provided they are supported by a team with experience in this area.

We’re interested in hearing from dance makers who:

• Are UK based

• Have a track record of making and presenting work in a range of professional contexts – this may or may not have already involved working outdoors

• Are interested in how outdoor work can inspire audiences from the broadest range of backgrounds

• Are seeking to engage with inspiring artists as part of their creative team (e.g. music, design, theatre, circus) and/or other disciplines (e.g. architecture, town planning)

• Might not necessarily define themselves as ‘dance makers’ - we’re looking for performance with a strong and distinctive movement element, but we welcome applications from artists from other disciplines who use movement in their practice

• We haven’t worked with before as well as artists we have existing relationships with

• Are committed to exploring more sustainable ways of making and touring

Stomping Ground has previously commissioned works by Robby Graham, Requardt & Rosenberg, Joseph Toonga, Pagrav Dance, AndroidX + MHz, Jessica Walker. You can find more information about previous Stomping Ground recipients under Examples of Previous Commissions below.

We encourage applications from artists with a range of lived experiences and from a range of backgrounds, and we particularly welcome applications from those who are underrepresented in the dance sector, including artists from Global Majority backgrounds, artists who identify as LGBTQIA2S+, deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists and artists from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

COMMISSIONING OFFER

We’re interested in going on a journey with a commissioned artist from the beginning of the idea, right through to production. Alongside the £22,000 commission, the partners can also offer:

• Space in-kind for R&D and/or creation

• Pitching opportunities at their respective platforms & advice on how to develop an effective pitch

• Advice & guidance on producing and working internationally

• Marketing & documentation support and guidance

• Profiling the project on the partners’ websites and via social media

• Performance and touring opportunities (as outlined in more detail below)

• Opportunities to engage with communities local to the partners, if relevant to the project

Performances agreed with the commissioning partners will be subject to a separate performance agreement and fee, and it is expected that the partners will be involved in conversations regarding future touring performances, as your touring plans develop.

We expect that the commissioned work would be presented at the following festivals, or in association with the following organisations:

• Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, London (produced by FESTIVAL.ORG):, August/September 2025

• Strike A Light, Gloucester: potential presentation date July 2026 (subject to funding and negotiable depending scale and style of work)

• FABRIC (presentation format and context to be negotiated)

• Sismògraf Festival, Olot, Catalonia:, April 2026

• Appetite, Stoke-on-Trent or Newcastle-under-Lyme (presentation format and context to be negotiated)

We understand that the commission may not cover all the costs to make your work. If you are invited to an interview, we will want to hear more about how you propose to support the creation and how you will build other fundraising into the timeline. The partners can also provide advice on where you might look for additional support, but we expect the commissioned artist & their team to fully lead on further fundraising.

ELIGIBILITY

We are inviting applications from UK-based artists, who define themselves as having an established practice, and track record of making and presenting high quality work, and who align with the vision and principles outlined above.

We are unable to accept applications from students (unless at PhD level), or artists based outside of the UK.

Artists who have applied to previous call outs can apply again but with a different project. We will not accept applications for projects previously applied for.

HOW TO APPLY

We have created an expression of interest form for you to tell us more about your idea and about yourself.

To apply, please fill in the short application via this link: Application Form

You can also submit your application via video, please follow the instructions in the application form.

• Online Information Session: Thursday 18 April, 5pm, please email producing@theplace.org.uk to sign up
• Deadline: Monday 13 May, 11:59pm

• Online Interviews: Tuesday 2 July

Shortlisted applicants will be notified by Monday 17 June whether they are invited for an interview or not.

Please also complete one of our Equal Opportunities monitoring forms which you will find attached to the application form. The Equal Opportunities monitoring form is optional and will help us to monitor whether our Call Outs are reaching groups that are currently underrepresented in our programmes. These forms will be reviewed by our HR team and will not been seen by the shortlisting or interview panel.

You can attach videos of your work or include a link to a video platform service. A film from a smartphone is fine.

A pdf version of the questions is available at the bottom of the page – if you are having any trouble using the form, please contact us at producing@theplace.org.uk

If you require any support during the application process, or if another format or application process would be more accessible for you, please contact producing@theplace.org.uk and we will make the appropriate arrangements.

We will be hosting an information session on Thursday 18 April at 5pm online, where representatives from the commissioning group will be able to talk a bit more about the commission and provide an opportunity for you to ask questions. This session will be BSL interpreted.

SHORTLISTING AND SELECTION PROCESS

The selection is carried out by a panel of producers and programmers who work in the partner organisations, as well as an external artist. If invited to an interview, you’ll need to tell us a bit more about your idea, how you’ll use the resources – money, strategic support – to make the project happen, and show how your previous experience will support you in making the work. You will also be asked to send in advance a creation and touring budget.

You will be notified of the interview panel when invited to the interview and will be offered a fee to prepare for and attend the interview.

Feedback will be offered to all unsuccessful applicants.

Stomping Ground is a commissioning group comprised of Appetite, FABRIC, FESTIVAL.ORG, The Place, and, Strike A Light and presentation partner Sismògraf Festival in Olot, Catalonia.

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