Early Career Artist Support Programme 2025 Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room

Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room are active in nurturing a thriving and diverse ecology of dance in Scotland. Together, we are launching the Early Career Artist Support Programme 2025; providing 2-3 emerging dance artists/ choreographers with a package of support to assist them in navigating the early stages of their careers in Scotland. This programme will run from 1^st September 2025 – 31^st August 2026.

The Opportunity

Each artist will receive:

• – One year of free membership to The Work Room & access to their membership programme;
• – One year free attendance at Professional Contemporary Class, running on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9.30am-10.45am at Queen’s Park Govanhill Church, Glasgow;
• – Individual mentoring session with Natasha Gilmore (Artistic Director & choreographer of Barrowland Ballet) and/ or Anita Clark (Director of The Work Room);
• – Shadowing opportunities with Barrowland Ballet, including rehearsals of touring work and delivery of their participatory programme such as intergenerational company, Wolf Pack;
• – A budget of £200 towards additional training, attending performances or professional development.

Who can apply

To be eligible for this opportunity you must:

• – Be pursuing a career in dance in Scotland
• – Have undertaken dance training full-time at college/ university or equally through more informal roots.
• – Have eligibility to work in the UK for at least the next 12 months
• – Be based in, or be able to commute to Glasgow

Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room recognise that not everyone has access to formal dance education programmes because they are not available in all dance styles and not accessible for many people. While our classes are in contemporary dance, we are also interested to hear from dancers trained in different dance genres, including Hip-hop or street dance styles; South Asian dance such as Bharatanatyam or Kathak; dance from the African and Caribbean diaspora; Scottish traditional dances – or other dance styles and genres.

We know that there are barriers to progressing in a dance career and that these challenges are felt more acutely by some people. We especially welcome applications from those who identify as having characteristics currently under-represented within the dance sector in Scotland including disabled people, those with parental responsibilities, those from Global Majority communities and those from working-class backgrounds.

Please include within your application information on any access support that you would require to fully participate in the programme.

How to apply:

Please send the following information to by12 noon, Wednesday 11 June 2025

• – Your contact details (name, email address and phone number)
• – Your recent dance training (name of course, place of study/ teachers, and if appropriate any qualifications achieved) and some personal reflections on this experience)
• – A short statement (less than 300 words) on your hopes for a career in dance and what you would be seeking gain from participating in this programme with Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room, to assist in this transition.
• – A link to video footage (max 5mins) of you dancing – this can be in performance, in class or in your bedroom. We are not interested in the quality of the video but want to see how you move.

All applicants will receive an email confirming your application has been accepted, and all applications will be reviewed by Natasha Gilmore (Artistic Director of Barrowland Ballet) and Anita Clark (Director of The Work Room).

Timeline

Wednesday 11 June – 12 noon deadline for applications

Monday 23 June – workshop and conversations with shortlisted artists at The Work Room

Wednesday 25 June – all applicants informed of the outcome

Read our full call out here:Early Career Artist Support Programme Callout 2025

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