Yorkshire Dance seek proposals for Ageless Festival 2026

Yorkshire Dance are seeking new dance performances, workshops and talks to programme within Ageless Festival 2026.

BACKGROUND

Established in 2019, Ageless Festival invites us to reimagine age through dance. Ageless 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 an intergenerational strand was introduced, programming work which explores how dance transcends age and connects us across generations.

ABOUT AGELESS 2026

Ageless will take place on 17 and 18 July 2026. Yorkshire Dance are interested in how different cultural or societal attitudes to age, ageing and the body intersect with diverse dance practices. Yorkshire Dance 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. They are interested in the politics of the body, who is visible, who is celebrated and what we define as beautiful. Where do age and experience hold power and status – and how dance can help us redefine our relationship to age and ageing.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

Read the full call out on Yorkshire Dance's website at https://yorkshiredance.com/opportunity/ageless-2026/ If you have a proposal for a performance, workshop or talk please complete the form on Yorkshire Dance's website no later than midday on Monday 17 November 2025. Yorkshire Dance also offer the option to send your proposal as a video or voice recording.