Candoco Dance Company Presents DEDICATED TO...

In this new duet for Candoco Dance Company, award winning choreographer Caroline Bowditch explores the extraordinary bonds we make throughout our lives. Performed by two of Candoco's female artists, Victoria Fox and Welly O'Brien, the duet is dedicated to women, to love, to life and to friendship.

Dedicated to... will tour outdoor festivals around the UK this summer. The duet explores how friendships evolve and adapt, how people come in and out of our lives and how these experiences can shape who we are. At a time when solidarity between women is at the forefront of our attention, this duet is a fitting celebration of female strength, support and friendship.

Ben Wright and Charlotte Darbyshire, Artistic Co-Directors said "Candoco first met Caroline Bowditch at a workshop in Australia in 1996. 22 years later, we present Dedicated to..., Caroline's first work for the company. It was worth the wait! An impassioned celebration of female friendship that has all the trademarks of a Bowditch piece - sensual, brave and good-humoured, an excellent addition to Candoco's growing outdoor repertoire."

Australian born, Caroline Bowditch is a performer, maker, teacher, speaker and, in her own words, a "mosquito buzzing in the ears of the arts industry". She has choreographed/performed work as girl jonah with Fiona Wright, created her own work Proband (2007) after being awarded a Wellcome Trust Arts Grant and co-created NQR and the Long and the Short of it as Scottish Dance Theatre's Dance Agent for Change (2008-2012). In 2012, Caroline created Leaving Limbo Landing for the Cultural Olympiad and in 2014 created Falling in Love with Frida, which was awarded a prestigious Herald Angel award, and continues to tour locally and internationally. She was recently commissioned, by Unlimited and the Northern Festivals Network, to create and tour The Adventures of Snigel.

Candoco, the leading company of disabled and non-disabled dance artists, celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016. Founded in 1991 by Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin, Candoco quickly grew into the first professional dance company of disabled and non-disabled artists in the UK.

The company's Artistic Co-Directors, Ben Wright and Charlotte Darbyshire, joined the company earlier this year, taking over from Stine Nilsen and Pedro Machado who stepped down after a decade. Charlotte Darbyshire was herself a founder member of Candoco and, together, the new artistic co-directors remain curious about what dance can be and how Candoco can change and reimagine perceptions of ability. They aim to continue to commission and produce work by world-class choreographers, with learning at the heart of the company.