East Midlands
Dance Artist Network
Connect. Inspire. Mentor.Weaving a tapestry of support for East Midlands Dance Artists
EMDAN is a C.I.C. and works across the region in partnership with other arts organisations creating professional development opportunities, advocating for those working in the industry, as well as disseminating sector relevant information.
About
EMDAN was established in 2018 after local independent dancers identified a gap in consistent continued professional development provision across the East Midlands.At the onset, the network consulted the wider dance community with both a questionnaire and an open meeting supported by FABRIC (Dance4 at the time). The response was overwhelmingly positive with over 90 independent dance artists expressing an interest in developing a formal network and engaging in regular group-based activities.The biggest ‘ask’ from dance artists was access to a local contemporary class suitable for trained dancers, followed by the need to share work, find opportunities, and generally network.Part of the network’s current organisational development project offers an opportunity for a weekly programme of contemporary classes in the East Midlands kindly supported by FABRIC. EMDAN aim to support the regional independent dance infrastructure and provide freelance dance artists with opportunities to thrive in their careers.The network secured funding from Arts Council England to develop a yearlong programme of activity across the region during 2024 and 2025. This included a full mentoring programme, scratch night, networking days, mentorship cafes, socials, and classes.You can find out more about our recent activity via the latest news and events pagesWe are pleased to be supported by the following organisations:Arts Council England, The Hub Sleaford, Lakeside Arts,
De Montfort University Leicester, LCB Depot,
FABRIC Nottingham, and Derby Live
The EMDAN Team
EMDAN is managed by a core team of three as well as a wider steering group who support the network voluntarily.The team are all East Midlands based dancers and have a wealth of experience in dance performance, choreography, teaching and production. They come from a wide range of backgrounds bringing expertise to the leadership and progression of the network.
Sarah Butler - C.I.C. Director and
Project Manager
Karla Jones - Administrator
Alice Marshall - C.I.C. Director
Steering Group members:Ana Raquel-Azevedo
Claire Pring
Danni Lane
Emma Bouch
Frank McCarthy
Huai-Wen Chang
Katie Kelsey
Kiera Sanderson
Kerryn Wise
Kirsty Russell
Seraina Dejaco
Current Events
We host a weekly Open Class every Monday during term time at FABRIC, Nottingham 6 - 7.30pm and costs £8 per session.Class is taught by professional dance artists from across the East Midlands and is open to all.
You can book your spot on our Spring term classes by clicking the image below
Derby Dance Network also host regular Pro Class at Chapel Street Arts Centre, Derby.We'll be posting details of the Spring term sessions soon!
Past Events
Mentoring Programme and Scratch Night 2025
Newsletters
We send out regular monthly newsletters via our mailing list, you can sign up to receive these mail outs by clicking hereKeep an eye on this page for more newsletters in 2026!We also have a WhatsApp group with around 170 members where we share class information, workshops and job opportunities. The link to join is here
Contact
We're always keen to hear from anyone who would like more information about the network.You can click on the icons below that will take you to our Instagram and Facebook pages. You can also drop us a line via email: [email protected]