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Join Cheshire Dance as Lead Creative Practitioner / Artist (Freelance)
13 July 2026
13 July 2026
13.07.2026
3 min read
We’re recruiting!
Lead Creative Practitioner / Artist (Freelance) at Cheshire Dance
Salary: £6,000 + £1,000 materials budget
Hours Of Work: Approx. 24 days
Contract: Freelance
Application deadline: Thursday 3rd September 2026.
Cheshire Dance is looking for a skilled and experienced Artist / Creative Practitioner to lead it’s 50th Birthday Community Heritage Project: 50 Years in Motion.
We would like to commission a high-quality artwork, or creative outcome, that is rooted in and responsive to Cheshire Dance’s archive; which holds both physical documents and the organisation’s rich, living and embodied heritage.
The commission will centre on collaboration and co-creation, inviting past and present communities to actively explore, contribute and re-imagine the heritage, stories and experiences of Cheshire Dance. In doing so, the artist will create a shared, collective experience that opens up the archive and engages audiences in meaningful and accessible ways during Cheshire Dance’s 50th year.
We’re open to a range of artforms and creative approaches – particularly those that place participation, dialogue, and artistic excellence at their heart.
Background
As Cheshire Dance reaches its 50th Birthday it will celebrate its role as a pioneering community dance organisation, while recognising that the heritage of community dance is at risk of being lost. It intends to use this special anniversary to look forward as much as to reflect on the past. Through connecting with the rich community of individuals and practices that have shaped and formed the organisation over time, it aims to shine a light on the impact of community dance, the co-created body of knowledge and the learning that will shape the next 50 years.
50 Years in Motion: A Cheshire Dance Community Heritage Project
One strand of the 50th Birthday Programme is a 50 Years in Motion: A Cheshire Dance Community Heritage Project:
Cheshire Dance holds a rich archive of documents, film, music and images; alongside, the living, embodied heritage of Cheshire Dance is carried within the bodies of community members who have engaged as participants, artists, learners and staff.
The aim of the 50 Years in Motion is to explore and illuminate the Cheshire Dance archive (living and physical), alongside community members, and share the stories through a creative product. These community members might be local and able to meet up, while others will connect via social media.
Please read the full details in the Job Pack before submitting your application: LA:CP.pdf
Cheshire Dance creates opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to access dance and to use the art form to live healthier and happier lives.
From delivering dance classes in the community and providing professional training opportunities for emerging dance artists, to hosting events and festivals across Cheshire, we seek to remove inequalities and co-create the opportunity to experience the power of dance.
Cheshire Dance values diversity in its workforce as it does in its artistic programme. We aim to attract a mix of applicants from different backgrounds for this role, going further than simply reflecting the stakeholders and geographic areas we currently serve.
A registered charity, Cheshire Dance is funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation and is supported by Cheshire West and Chester Council. Cheshire Dance is the lead organisation of NEXUS, Now Northwich and PMLD-Dance.
How to apply
Interested applicants are invited to submit a CV and an expression of interest. Your CV and expression of interest should include:
Please send the above to people@cheshiredance.org with the email subject as ‘APPLICATION 50 Years in Motion’
Cheshire Dance particularly welcomes expressions of interest from under-represented groups in dance and the arts. We will publish the interview questions and welcome conversations with enquirers in advance. We can support applicant’s access needs in attending their interview. Once appointed, we will seek to address any support, access or equality needs you might have in carrying out your role.
For enquiries about the role, or to schedule an informal conversation please email people@cheshiredance.org with ‘50 Years in Motion’ as the subject, or, call the Cheshire Dance office between 9am and 2pm Monday-Thursday.
Timeline
Interviews will take place at the Cheshire Dance main office at Winsford Library, High St, Winsford, CW7 2AS.
To apply, follow the instructions and above and in the job pack.
