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| Stopgap Dance Company | |
|---|---|
| Name | Stopgap Dance Company |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Nigel Charnock |
| Headquarters | Birmingham |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Integrated dance, contemporary dance |
Stopgap Dance Company is a United Kingdom-based integrated dance company founded in 1997 that creates professional dance works combining disabled and non-disabled artists. The company is known for producing contemporary dance performances, touring nationally and internationally, and developing inclusive training, education, and community projects across venues such as the Birmingham Hippodrome, Sadler's Wells, and the Southbank Centre.
Stopgap was established in 1997 amid a UK arts landscape shaped by institutions like Arts Council England, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Royal Shakespeare Company, and national policy debates influenced by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and later the Equality Act 2010. Early collaborators and influencers included choreographers associated with Matthew Bourne, Siobhan Davies, Richard Alston, and disability arts figures linked to Graeae Theatre Company and Candoco Dance Company. The company developed its profile through regional residency activity in West Midlands venues such as Birmingham Hippodrome, touring alongside festivals including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Southbank Centre seasons, and commissions from organisations like British Council and local authorities tied to the Big Lottery Fund. Over time Stopgap worked with artists and producers who had associations with Sadler's Wells, Royal Opera House, National Theatre, and international festivals such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and Venice Biennale.
Stopgap’s repertoire foregrounds integrated practice, drawing on choreographic lineages associated with Pina Bausch, Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, and more contemporary makers connected to Shobana Jeyasingh and Akram Khan. Works balance physical theatre techniques from practitioners like DV8 Physical Theatre and devised approaches influenced by Complicité and Forced Entertainment. The company often stages studio-to-stage pieces suitable for venues such as Barbican Centre, Royal Festival Hall, and regional theatres across the West Midlands. Stopgap commissions composers, visual artists, and lighting designers from networks linked to Tangerine Dream-style collaborations, contemporary composers associated with London Sinfonietta, and scenographers with ties to National Theatre Studio projects. The choreography integrates somatic practices referencing methodologies from Laban Centre alumni, Pilates-trained practitioners, and Alexander Technique teachers associated with institutions like RADA.
Stopgap is a practitioner in the integrated arts movement alongside companies such as Candoco Dance Company and Graeae Theatre Company, developing accessible casting, auditioning, and rehearsal practices compatible with advocacy by groups like Scope (charity) and policy frameworks set by Arts Council England. Accessibility strategies include audio description used in partnership with festivals like OpenUp and tactile tours similar to those adopted by Royal Opera House. The company engages disability-led consultants drawn from networks associated with Shape Arts and collaborates with welfare and transport bodies in the model of cross-sector partnerships seen with Department for Work and Pensions-linked schemes. Stopgap implements workplace adjustments informed by guidance from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and health and safety standards referenced by organisations such as HSE (United Kingdom).
Stopgap’s touring history includes appearances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Sadler's Wells, Southbank Centre, and international engagements comparable to residencies at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival or showcase opportunities presented by British Council programmes. Signature productions have been staged in collaboration with dramaturgs and choreographers who have worked with Matthew Bourne, Akram Khan Company, and Siobhan Davies Dance, and performed in festivals like Latitude Festival and venues including Barbican Centre and Birmingham Hippodrome. The company has toured regionally across the West Midlands and nationally through networks involving Regional Dance England and venues within the Arts Touring Alliance model, presenting work that sits in programming alongside National Theatre initiatives and contemporary dance seasons at Sadler's Wells.
Stopgap runs training programmes, community workshops, and education projects that align with frameworks from organisations such as Creative & Cultural Skills, Arts Council England, and the British Council. Outreach includes inclusive curriculum projects delivered in partnership with local schools linked to the Department for Education initiatives and community colleges reminiscent of collaborations seen with City of Wolverhampton College and universities comparable to University of Birmingham and Birmingham City University. The company’s professional development activity echoes mentoring schemes like those of Dance Consortium and participates in CPD provision similar to models from Royal Academy of Dance and conservatoire networks including Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Stopgap has received national-level recognition within UK arts funding and award contexts associated with organisations such as Arts Council England, nominations in industry awards comparable to National Dance Awards, and festival acknowledgements at events like Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Collaborators and alumni have gone on to work with companies and institutions including Sadler's Wells, Royal Opera House, Candoco Dance Company, and Graeae Theatre Company, reflecting the company’s influence in talent pipelines celebrated by professional bodies including Dance UK and regional arts awards administered by county councils and arts trusts.
Stopgap operates within funding ecosystems shaped by Arts Council England, the National Lottery, and philanthropic trusts similar to Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The Garfield Weston Foundation. Governance practices reflect charity-sector standards overseen by regulators like the Charity Commission for England and Wales and board development models advocated by Clore Leadership Programme alumni. Strategic partnerships have been formed with venues such as Sadler's Wells, Southbank Centre, and regional producers, and with advocacy organisations including Shape Arts, Graeae Theatre Company, and disability networks connected to Scope (charity).
Category:Dance companies in the United Kingdom