Our second annual Community Engagement Tour officially concluded on Wednesday 27 November and we couldn’t be more pleased about the success and growth this year has brought. This year’s tour saw us expanding our outreach and publicly performing in spaces where people may never have encountered contemporary dance before.

Our Mission

Since its inception in 2023, our Community Engagement Tour has been built on the core values of accessibility and inclusion. Our goal is to make dance available to everyone, providing opportunities for local communities to engage with, experience, and connect with contemporary dance in a meaningful way.

Public Performances

Thackray Museum of Medicine

We started this year’s Community Engagement Tour with a return to the Thackray Museum of Medicine on Saturday 9 November. Our ongoing relationship with the museum saw us first make an appearance last year where our company dancers performed excerpts from BELONGING: Loss. Legacy. Love. which gave audiences a preview of the pieces that would later feature in our triple bill tour in Spring 2024. This year, we raised the bar with an expanded performance by showcasing three diverse dance works by Artistic Director Marcus Jarrell Willis and Associate Artist Iolanda Portogallo.

Photography by Ant Robling

Trinity Leeds

This year, we were thrilled to add Trinity Leeds as one of our new locations to the community tour calendar. On Saturday 16 November our company dancers performed Matter of Fact choreographed by Marcus Jarrell Willis in the the city’s vibrant shopping centre. The lively performance brought contemporary dance to a bustling public space, engaging shoppers and passerby in a new and exciting way.

Photography by Franco Royal

Click here to read more about our public performances 

School Engagement

Our outreach to schools has always been an important part of our mission here at phoenix, and this year made no exception. This initative holds special significance to us as it’s deeply connected to the origins of our company with our founders first discovering their passion for dance at Harehills Middle School.

This year, we delivered bespoke lecture demonstrations and special excerpt performances to students from Trinity Academy, Harehills Primary School, Aldertree Primary School, and Co-op Academy Brierley. These performances gave students an up-close introduction to contemporary dance, followed by immersive workshops that allowed them to engage with the work on a deeper level.

Quote from Hayley Graham, Illuminate Lead

“We are thrilled to partner with new school Coop Brierley and take the Community Tour to a SEND provision.  It’s important for us to provide these opportunities for those who may face barriers in accessing traditional theatre. The company very much enjoyed connecting with the local school and bringing dance to such a creative group of young people. At Phoenix we strive to make dance accessible for everyone to engage in and we hope to continue to expand our inclusive offering.”

Community and Looking Ahead

Our final performance on Wednesday 27 November took place at our home venue, The Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre. As we remain dedicated to our mission of making dance accessible to all, guests from local organisations, community leaders, school groups and local freelancers attended an evening featuring Gyoco 99 by Iolanda Portogallo and two choreographic works by Marcus Jarrell Willis; Matter of Fact, and Inside Giovanni’s Room (excerpts).

If you would like to know how you can get involved with our outreach for Community Engagement tour 2025, please email us at hello@phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk

Photography by Elly Wel Photography