Newcastle-based dance company Fertile Ground, formerly Dora Frankel Dance, has received Grants for the Arts funding for the north east's first Graduate Dance Company.
The grant of £64,700 is supported by a further £12,000 from the Gillian Dickinson Trust, which becomes a founding patron of the company, to underwrite the first pilot project, which will run from September 2014 to April 2015.
Fertile Ground will obtain funding for graduate internships from national and European sources for a pilot project from September 2014 to April 2015, providing full-time employment for 7 or 8 performing arts graduates and links for professional development for other dance graduates.
It intends to sustain an annual programme providing a bridge between university study and the professional dance industry, focusing on communities that have had limited opportunities for engagement with dance.
The company has commitments from The Maltings, Berwick upon Tweed, Bede’s World in Jarrow, The Customs House in South Shields, The Bowes Museum in Co Durham, The Northern Gallery of Contemporary Arts and The Cultural Spring programme in Sunderland and South Tyneside, Northumbria, Teesside and Sunderland Universities and from Newcastle and Sunderland College to provide residency and local support.
Dora Frankel, Artistic Director, said, "Fertile Ground offers dance opportunities to some of the region’s most talented young dancers, bringing them the chance to work, train and perform intensively with contributions from outstanding guest teachers and choreographers.
"The company will show the importance, excitement and relevance of contemporary dance whilst raising aspirations among young people through its programme of dance experiences."
Dora Frankel Dance Company was established in 2003 as a vehicle for Dora Frankel when she arrived in the north east following a career as a dancer, choreographer and choreologist with Rambert, American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Swedish Ballet, as well as leading the establishment of a dance training programme in Gothenburg Sweden.
In 2009, Dora Frankel Dance became resident at Dance City in Newcastle in order to establish the company on a more sustainable and permanent footing.