Eliot Smith Dance announces Autumn 2026 Season

Fifteen years after founding one of the North East's leading contemporary dance companies, choreographer Eliot Smith is returning to the stage. Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) has announced its Autumn 2026 Season, a programme celebrating the company's fifteenth anniversary with two significant productions that reflect both its artistic roots and its future ambitions.

At the heart of the season is a new iteration of PITMAN, Smith's acclaimed dance theatre work inspired by the Ashington Group, also known as the Pitmen Painters — the miners who became internationally recognised artists while working in Northumberland's coalfields. Premiering in 2016, PITMAN has become one of the company's defining works, praised for its powerful and accessible blend of contemporary dance, regional history and original storytelling.

Returning ten years after its premiere, the 2026 iteration is the largest and most ambitious staging of the work to date. Featuring a cast of six dancers, new theatrical design and an expanded creative vision, the production has been developed as the next stage in the work's life ahead of UK and international touring. PITMAN will be performed at Alnwick Playhouse on 11 November for public and press audiences, followed by dedicated performances for local primary schools on 12 November. 

The season concludes with Eliot Smith: Return at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle on 3 December, marking Smith's first appearance as a performer since 2021. The intimate evening charts Smith's artistic journey through three solo works spanning different stages of his career, culminating in the premiere of HUNTER. Developed following a creative residency in New York at the Taylor Centre for Dance Education, home of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, HUNTER draws inspiration from the industrial heritage of Wallsend, exploring themes of industry, identity and endurance through Smith's distinctive contemporary movement language.

The programme also features Interrupted Souls, choreographed by Lorenzo Pagano, Guest Artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, alongside a new solo created by Nicole Vivien Watson, Founder and CEO of Surface Area Dance Theatre. Together, the three works offer audiences a rare insight into the collaborations, influences and creative relationships that have shaped both Smith's artistic journey and the evolution of Eliot Smith Dance. 

Speaking about the season, Eliot Smith said: "This season feels like a full-circle moment. PITMAN has been central to the company's story over the last decade, and bringing it back in its most ambitious form feels incredibly timely. At the same time, returning to performance has challenged me creatively in ways I hadn't expected. These productions celebrate everything we've built over the last fifteen years while opening the door to what's next." 

Founded in 2011, Eliot Smith Dance has established a reputation for creating contemporary dance rooted in the people, places and history of North East England. Alongside acclaimed original productions including PITMAN, the company has toured works by internationally celebrated choreographers including Sir Robert Cohan CBE and Paul Taylor, bringing world-class contemporary dance to audiences across the North East while developing a distinctive artistic voice of its own.

Through touring productions, community engagement and international collaborations, Eliot Smith Dance has connected regional stories with audiences across the UK and beyond. As the company celebrates its fifteenth anniversary, it also celebrates the many artists who have contributed to its journey — from guest choreographers and dancers to composers, designers, technicians, producers, volunteers, partners, funders and supporters. Their creativity, generosity and belief have helped shape Eliot Smith Dance into the company it is today and continue to inspire its next chapter. 

The Autumn 2026 Season has been made possible through the generous support of Arts Council England, The Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement, Alnwick Playhouse, Dance City, The Ashington Group Trustees, Woodhorn Museum | North East Museums, Friends of ESD and anonymous donors. 

Discover online at: https://www.eliotsmithdance.com/autumn