I am thrilled to have started my new role as Chief Executive & Creative Director at DanceEast.
There is so much to celebrate and admire about what DanceEast does and what it has done for many years. The organisation has been critical to the UK’s dance infrastructure for decades and has created countless life-affirming dance experiences for people from all walks of life.
This pursuit is in my heart. It is what I’ve dedicated my professional life to. Company Chameleon, which I co-founded 18 years ago, is committed to bringing dance to where it can have a profound impact. As well as touring the world with my productions, Chameleon works across theatres, outdoor festivals, schools, Higher Education, care homes, secure settings, museums, galleries, libraries, prisons, community settings, and more.
Dance was not something I set out to pursue. It was certainly not for ‘someone like me’, a young working-class boy growing up in inner-city Manchester. An unplanned and unexpected encounter with dance at secondary school, when I was forced to do a class in place of a PE lesson (against my will), set me on the path to where I am today.
My experience in and with dance has made me a whole-hearted believer in its transformative capability. It has immense capacity to positively change lives, as it did mine.
I’ve seen this again and again, across the world: in Pupil Referral Units in Manchester, in Townships in South Africa, with Bedouin communities in Israel and with social services in the Czech Republic.
I’ve seen so many people moved to tears watching one of my shows, and experiencing laughter, exhilaration, reflection and wonder. Dance reminds us that as much as we are different, we are all the same, at a deep and fundamental level.
I’m proud of all I’ve achieved, but I come to this new role looking forwards. I know there is work to do, as I start building on a fantastic legacy here at DanceEast.
We live in challenges times, with huge political, economic, and social uncertainty. There is a decline in dance education and an exodus of freelancers from the profession. It is becoming difficult for artists to afford to make new work. Funding is increasingly scarce. Many are questioning the value of publicly subsidised arts and culture.
It is my job to speak to these challenges. I will make the case for dance and find effective solutions for its future. I will dedicate myself to ensuring that great art can be made, and that people can experience the richness and joy of movement. I will enable young people to pursue a life in dance, wherever they are from, whatever their background.
Despite the challenge we face as a sector, I truly believe there has never been a greater opportunity for the artform. Dance is yet to reach its full potential.
If you look around, dance is everywhere. It plays a central role in people’s lives. It is on TV, in games, on social media, and in films. Kids dance at bus stops without inhibition. There is a future for dance that we don’t yet know exists. I will give my all to help create its new reality.
Anthony Missen, Chief Executive & Creative Director, DanceEast
