Ageless Festival 2026: Call for Proposals

About the Open Call

Yorkshire Dance are seeking new dance performances, workshops and talks to programme within our Ageless Festival 2026. Now in its fourth edition, Ageless Festival invites us to reimagine our perceptions around dance and age. Established in 2019, Ageless Festival emerged in response to the growing recognition in the sector that as dancers and choreographers age they have less visibility, support and performance opportunities. At the same time, the ageing population in the UK, led to an explosion of community dance companies made up of older adults. Groups with a desire to professionalise their practice and secure funding for more ambitious projects. The success of the first Ageless Festival created an appetite for more. In the third edition of the festival in 2024 we introduced an intergenerational strand, programming work which explores how dance transcends age and connects us across generations. Ageless will take place on 17 and 18 July 2026. We’re interested in how different cultural or societal attitudes to age, ageing and the body intersect with diverse dance practices. We are seeking work from different dance genres (this could be Kathak, Contemporary, Hip Hop, African dance, traditional folk dances etc.) which offers new insights into ageing in the UK and around the world. We are interested in the politics of the body, who is visible, who is celebrated and what we define as beautiful. We are interested in where age and experience hold power and status – and how dance can help us redefine our relationship to age and ageing. We are seeking proposals for: Workshops and classes; Performances (solos, duets, trios, small groups – short pieces within double/triple bills are acceptable); Talks which expand our understanding of dance and age; Films (documentary, screendance, installation).

What is Offered

Opportunity to programme new dance performances, workshops, talks, and films within the Ageless Festival 2026. Pieces can be programmed as part of double/triple bills.

Requirements

Applicants must be available to deliver their proposal at Ageless 2026 on 17 and/or 18 July 2026. Only apply if your work is ready for performance or presentation, as commissioning funds for new work are not offered. Dance must be the central/leading art form. Applicants are responsible for securing international travel, accommodation, and community participant travel costs if applicable.

How to Apply

Please complete the form on the Yorkshire Dance website no later than midday on Monday 17 November 2025. If you would like to tell us about your idea in a different way, please send a video or voice recording which answers the questions in the form. Send your video or recording via email to Creative Director, Hannah Robertshaw on hannahrobertshaw@yorkshiredance.com. For queries, contact Hannah on 0113 243 8765.