The history gathered here is a point of return, but also departure. As Scottish Dance Theatre enters its next forty years, it carries forward a legacy of artistic innovation, community connection, touring, learning and shared labour. The future will be shaped by new artists, audiences, places and questions, while remaining rooted in Dundee and open to the world.
Future Artistic Directions
Under its current Artistic Director Joan Clevillé, the company’s future is framed as a careful weaving of local roots and international ambition. New artistic directions will keep opening the company to different artists, forms, places and perspectives, while holding onto the connection, curiosity and rigour that define its identity.
The Memory in Motion archive project has revealed a history far richer, more diverse and more interconnected than any of us could have imagined. Across four decades, Scottish Dance Theatre has acted as a bridge between people and communities, between Dundee and the world. At a time of growing division and uncertainty, I believe deeply in the transformative power of dance, offering generous and imaginative ways of being together that help shape the future we want to build.
– Joan Clevillé, Artistic Director
Looking ahead, community is not simply part of the company’s history, but central to its future. Scottish Dance Theatre must continue creating work that connects with Dundee and Scotland, opening space for new voices, inspiring the next generation, and ensuring contemporary dance remains accessible, relevant and alive.
Sustaining the Company
To sustain the next forty years also means investing on and caring for the conditions that make dance possible: artists, audiences, infrastructure, funding, staff and freelancers, archives, partnerships and places. It also means balancing outward ambition with local responsibility, ensuring the company remains visible, supported, remembered and environmentally aware.
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