Celebrating Wildfire Rising Programme 2023

04.12.2023

2 min read

A group of people taking part in a world dance masterclass with participants of all ethnicities

“Wildfire Rising is that part in the book where something comes into the story, which flips everything and reveals this whole other super exciting part of what might happen next…” (Associate Artist of Wildfire Rising Year 2)

Led by Cheshire Dance and Movema and supported by Arts Council England, ‘Wildfire Rising’ is an associate artist development programme that strives to remove barriers of inequality by investing in global majority dance artists and their development, representation, artistry and leadership.

For the past two years, the Wildfire Rising Programme has worked with a number of global majority artists based in the North West who have taken part in paid, bespoke professional development and reflection, and who have received commissions to support and develop their own dance work.

Year Two of the programme, which concluded in November 2023, saw Ruth Asidi, Dorivalda Filipe, Sheetal Maru, Akil Morgan and Pei Yee Tong join the programme as this year’s Associate Artists. During this second year, the programme worked with these artists, creating time and space for investment in their professional and personal development.

Together with these artists, this year’s Wildfire Rising also hosted a number of platforms and events to promote the talent and skills of artists from the African, South Asian, East Asian and South East Asian diasporas in the region. These events created space for conversation and for artists to communicate and simmer new ideas

In celebration of Wildfire Rising Year Two, Movema and Cheshire Dance have created a short 5-minute film for you to discover more about the programme, the associate artists and those who have engaged with us throughout 2023. Please take a moment to watch the film and celebrate the year with us.

Meanwhile, if you’re a dance artist that would like to know more about the programme or are an organisation that’s interested in Global Majority Dance Artist Development, please do get in touch. We’re currently considering the future of this work and would love to hear your ideas and opinions on how we might develop it further.