Gillian Dickinson Trust Commission (Spring 2023)

Richard Chappell is an internationally renowned and award winning choreographer. His ensemble Richard Chappell Dance creates memorable and moving dance at the forefront of theatre, interdisciplinary collaboration and site responsive performance. RCD’s creative process is rooted in collaboration, co-authorship and emotional connectivity and the ensemble’s values have been shaped by a close recurring combination of collaborators and dancers. Alongside touring nationally to theatres across the UK, RCD has presented work in Singapore, Germany and Israel.

RCD has close partnerships with prestigious organisations, including Royal Opera House, Arts Council England, The Linbury Trust, Dance City, BBC Arts, Arts Council Wales, British Council, Studio Wayne McGregor, Dancin’ Oxford, National Dance Company Wales, National Arts Council Singapore, Pavilion Dance South West and DanceEast, amongst others.

RCD has a vibrant and flourishing participatory programme, which brings together intergenerational casts for performances or workshop series across communities in the UK. Prior programmes have been created in partnership with Dance Blast, Dance in Devon, Exeter City of Literature, Span Arts and Torbay Culture. As of summer 2021, RCD became a Community Interest Company.

As a guest choreographer, Richard has created work for renowned dance companies, institutions and theatres, including National Dance Company Wales, Transitions Dance Company, Stuttgart Ballet, BalletWorks, English National Ballet, Belfast Ensemble, Rambert School and Frontier Danceland (Singapore). Richard has guest lectured for renowned courses, including Rambert School, Iwanson School of Contemporary Dance (Munich), ArtEz Institute of the Arts (Holland), Lasalle College of Arts (Singapore), Singapore School of the Arts, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Tring Park School.

As a community dance artist, Richard has five years of experience working as an inclusive arts facilitator and support worker for ROC Creative and Lifeworks.

I am thrilled to be a recipient of this commission. It will allow me to interrogate my practice to new levels in a project that reflects my beliefs and values as a maker. The relentlessness of making independently is a challenging space to occupy and this level of support and advocacy from Dance City and the Gillian Dickinson Trust has emboldened our work and encouraged us to think big, taking our work to the next levels of artistic discovery and ambition. I’m enamoured by the potential of what we can make and the structures we can build to support our long term vision. After such positive past experiences with the CAT and BA students, it will be wonderful to work with them in a symbiotic way to a creative process. I look forward to shaping a process that includes their dancing and their voices.