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| Candoco Dance Company | |
|---|---|
| Name | Candoco Dance Company |
| Formation | 1991 |
| Founders | Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin |
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
| Genre | Contemporary dance, Inclusive dance |
Candoco Dance Company Candoco Dance Company is a British contemporary dance ensemble integrating disabled and non-disabled performers from diverse backgrounds including members who use wheelchairs, prosthetics, and other assistive devices. Founded in 1991 in London by Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin, the company has become prominent in the international performing arts scene for reconfiguring choreography, collaborating with composers and visual artists, and engaging with institutions across Europe, North America, and Asia. Candoco's work has intersected with major venues, festivals, commissioning bodies, and advocacy organizations, establishing links with contemporary arts infrastructure and disability cultural movements.
Candoco emerged in 1991 amid a flourishing period for Dance UK, Arts Council England, and disability arts networks such as Shape Arts and the National Disability Arts Forum. Founders Celeste Dandeker, a former principal with Rambert Dance Company, and Adam Benjamin, formerly of AXIS Dance Company and Extant Theatre, positioned the ensemble within new paradigms influenced by choreographers like Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, Trisha Brown, and institutions including The Place (London), Royal Opera House, and Sadler's Wells. Early residencies involved collaborations with Greenwich Dance, Dartington International Summer School, and University of Roehampton while touring opportunities connected Candoco to festivals such as Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Biennale de Lyon, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Over subsequent decades the company developed relationships with producers including Serpentine Galleries, TATE Modern, Barbican Centre, and funders like National Lottery distributors and philanthropic entities such as Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Candoco's aesthetic interrogates assumptions about bodies and movement through repertory by choreographers from diverse lineages: commissions and pieces have involved makers aligned with Akram Khan Company, Wim Vandekeybus, DV8 Physical Theatre, Russell Maliphant, Shobana Jeyasingh, Matthew Bourne, Siobhan Davies, Wayne McGregor, Olivier Dubois, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Claudia Castellucci, Rhiannon Faith, and Lucy Guerin. The repertoire blends contemporary, postmodern, and theatrical vocabularies influenced by scores from composers such as Max Richter, Gavin Bryars, Michael Nyman, Nitin Sawhney, and partnerships with sound designers connected to BBC Radio 3 broadcasts. Visual and design collaborations have linked the company to artists and collectives like Yinka Shonibare, Ai Weiwei, Rachel Whiteread, Toby Paterson, and production designers associated with Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. Candoco's pieces often reframe canonical works in dialogue with disability arts legacies associated with figures like Liam Geddes and institutions such as Mencap and Leonard Cheshire.
Leadership has included artistic directors, associate artists, and managers drawn from varied institutions: founders Celeste Dandeker and Adam Benjamin, later directors who connected with networks at London Contemporary Dance School, University of the Arts London, and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Company dancers have trained at schools like Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Royal Ballet School, Central Saint Martins, Rambert School, and international institutions including Juilliard School, Martha Graham School, and Palenstein Academy. Artistic teams have featured choreographers, répétiteurs, composers, and designers affiliated with English National Ballet, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Glasgow International, and research centers such as Wellcome Trust-funded projects and university labs at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Candoco runs education programmes aligning with community partners such as Shape Arts, Arts Council England, Disability Arts Online, and higher education providers like Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and University College London. Outreach initiatives include workshops in collaboration with health and social care organisations including NHS England, Social Care Institute for Excellence, and local authorities across Greater London. The company contributes to academic research with partners at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Birkbeck, University of London, and University of Manchester on embodied practice, accessibility, and arts policy, engaging with policy arenas connected to Equality Act 2010 implementation and cultural inclusion standards promoted by Creative Scotland and Arts Council Wales.
Candoco has commissioned works from international choreographers and partnered with performing organizations including English National Opera, BalletBoyz, Northern Ballet, Opera North, Scottish Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, and festivals like Venice Biennale. Cross-disciplinary commissions have involved contemporary composers associated with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and sound artists linked to MUTEK and Transmediale. Visual partnerships include galleries and museums such as Victoria and Albert Museum, TATE Britain, Hayward Gallery, and site-specific collaborations with urban projects coordinated by Greater London Authority initiatives.
Candoco has performed at major venues and international festivals including Sadler's Wells Theatre, Royal Opera House, Southbank Centre, Edinburgh International Festival, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, Festival d'Avignon, Spoleto Festival USA, and touring circuits organized by bodies like British Council, Culture Ireland, Nouvelle Scène, and Network of European Culture Centres (CircusNet). The company has appeared in crossover programmes with orchestras at Royal Albert Hall and in contemporary art contexts at Serpentine Pavilion events and large-scale public commissions supported by municipal arts services in cities such as Berlin, Paris, New York City, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and Amsterdam.
Candoco's work has been recognized by awards and honors from institutions including Olivier Awards-related juries, nominations for South Bank Sky Arts Awards, grants from Arts Council England, and cultural accolades connected to European Cultural Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Jerwood Foundation, and academic fellowships from Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust. The company has been cited in research outputs and critical reviews in outlets tied to The Guardian (UK), The Times (London), The Independent, BBC Arts, and scholarly journals published via Routledge and Cambridge University Press.
Category:Contemporary dance companies