Announcing the Stomping Ground Commission 2025 Recipient Francesca Baglione (Miss High Leg Kick) will present original outdoor work Lady Garden this Autumn

Stomping Ground, a commissioning group of leading UK arts organisations FABRIC, FESTIVAL.ORG, The Place, Strike A Light and Appetite, together with presentation partner Sismograf Festival in Olot, Catalonia, is pleased to announce the Stomping Ground commission for 2025.

As the 2025 recipient, Francesca Baglione (Miss High Leg Kick) has been commissioned to develop Lady Garden – an exploration of the world of flowers through performance, in a highly visual, site-responsive show about our relationship with the nature that surrounds us. The project is inspired by Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Its principles are used as a framework to inform unique live art / dance performances from individual artists which build towards a spectacular human flower arrangement. Performance elements include smell, dance, sound and costume, inviting audiences to feel part of the show.

Francesca Baglione (Miss High Leg Kick) is an established Olivier Award winning live artist whose work uses collaboration and unusual approaches to audience engagement to create ambitious, accessible performances. Large-scale outdoor works (e.g. Fashion Bus and Audition Project) and interactive pieces (C’est Barbican / Duckie!, Bird Rave and Eau de Memoire) are marked by humour, a love of spectacle, dance and the celebration of the everyday.

The Stomping Ground group has been commissioning original outdoor work since 2018, supporting artists on their journey from development, right through to production. Previous Stomping Ground recipients include Robby Graham, Requardt & Rosenberg, Joseph Toonga, Pagrav Dance, AndroidX + MHz , Walker Movement Theatre and Richard Chappell Dance.

The panel, which included Emma-Jane Benning and Zariq Rosita-Hanif (Strike A Light), Jamaal Burkmar (from dance company Extended Play), Christina Elliot (The Place), Bradley Hemmings MBE (FESTIVAL.ORG), Hannah Sharpe (FABRIC), Gemma Thomas (Appetite) and Tena Busquets Costa (Sismograf) received 40 applications, and interviewed 6 artists, before awarding Francesca Baglione the commission.

Commenting on the news, Christina Elliot, Head of Programming & Producing at The Place says: “Each year it is a joy and a privilege to read about so many inspiring ideas. Francesca’s vision for Lady Garden aligned with our desire to support work which encourages audiences to connect to and appreciate the world around them in new ways. It also promises to be a vibrant, fun & colourful experience for audiences around the UK and beyond. Congratulations to Francesca and thank you to all applicants to Stomping Ground 2025”.

Francesca Baglione adds: “I’m thrilled to be working on Lady Garden! It’s particularly inspirational to bring together such a range of fabulous individual artists and to be able to use the amazing facilities of The Place to explore what is possible with this show. We’re all looking forward to being part of a work celebrating flowers, and creating an accessible, fun show which makes people look beyond their beauty and the part they play in our world. This is an exciting new project close to my heart - thank you Stomping Ground."