Richard Chappell Dance Announces Its 2022 Season

Richard Chappell Dance has announced its 2022 season of performances and participatory programmes that will be delivered across the UK next year.

Following its successful premiere in autumn 2021, Richard Chappell Dance's latest and most ambitious work to date, Infinite Ways Home, returns with a UK tour to Oxford Playhouse as part of Dancin' Oxford festival (14 March), The Brewhouse, Taunton (25 March), Dance City, Newcastle (27 May), and Salisbury Playhouse as part of the Salisbury International Festival (31 May).

A multi-sensory production, Infinite Ways Home explores ritual, rave and human connection performed by five dancers and a live violinist and set to an original score by electronic duo Larch. Combining Chappell's diverse choreographic language of ballet, contemporary dance and improvisation, this powerful work looks to redefine our sense of community and home.

Proudly born and raised Devonian, Richard Chappell Dance also presents UPLIFT, a specially curated evening of transformative dance from some of the brightest young choreographers and performers from the South West and Wales, at Swindon Dance (20 May) and Exeter Northcott (3 June).

These mixed bills will include seminal works from Richard Chappell Dance including extracts from Infinite Ways Home and a new version of Silence Between Waves performed alongside new commissions from Daisy Howell, Artistic Director of Manchester's Night People and Edd Arnold, dancer with Russell Maliphant Company and former BalletBoyz dancer. UPLIFT will also see performances from South West based youth companies.

Having first premiered in 2019 Silence Between Waves returns this season with a large-scale outdoor performance at the Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea (July) as part of Dance Days 2022. Specially designed to be performed on outdoor coastal areas by an international and local cast, Silence Between Waves is a poignant exploration of our connection to home, distance and otherness, set to a soundscape of stories from local people about their relationship to the area.

Alongside its touring programme Richard Chappell Dance will deliver meaningful participatory programmes and workshops in all areas to help increase engagement with and access to high quality dance, regardless of geographical location or financial means.

Following an open call, Richard Chappell Dance is thrilled to be one of 8 new dance films commissioned by BBC Arts and One Dance UK for Dance Passion that will premiere in February 2022. Working with sculptor Anna Gillespie and filmmaker Daniel Martin, Heart Land is a cinematic piece about our relationship with outdoor spaces that explores people's inevitable footprint on the world. Acknowledging the grief felt by people witnessing the climate crisis, Heart Land brings together an intergenerational cast of dancers and activists who passionately look to our futures.

Taking inspiration from the music industry's support acts, Richard Chappell Dance has launched its new Supporting Acts programme for Welsh or Wales based early career choreographers. Following an open callout, successful applicants will receive practical and financial support and mentoring to develop and create new works that will be performed alongside the company's repertoire this season.

Of the Company's 2022 season, Artistic Director Richard Chappell said: "I am so excited and proud of the work that we will be presenting this season to audiences across the UK. Following last year's premiere, it brings me great joy to now share Infinite Ways Home to people up and down the country, from Newcastle to Taunton. Our mixed programme UPLIFT offers us an exciting new way of working, allowing us to reintroduce previous productions to the company's repertoire and share them alongside new commissions from some of the most cutting-edge young artists creating today.

"To help support the sector I am proud to be launching our Supporting Acts programme, which will give four early career choreographers a commission fee, mentoring, residencies and performance programming. We will create a symbiotic relationship between these artists and our company, championing their practices to help them fulfil their potential."

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