Cloud Dance Festival was founded in 2007 as an extension of Cloud Dance, a part-time contemporary dance company, in recognition of the disproportionate shortage of  available performance opportunities despite the wealth of contemporary dance talent in London.

Cloud Dance Festival has evolved into a thrice-yearly London-based contemporary dance festival and serves as a platform for emerging and established national and international contemporary dance companies. The festival presents companies at different stages of their careers, and with a small number of them returning regularly, this offers the audiences an opportunity to follow the development of young dance artists. The frequency and location of the festival guarantees a regular update of the newest trends in the contemporary dance world at different times of the year. Cloud Dance Festival is committed to advancing and supporting high quality new contemporary dance professionals; supporting emerging artists will have a lasting impact on the industry and its future.

We have currently presented eight festivals, comprising eighty companies, of which 22 have performed in more than one festival. Our past headliners have included FFIN Dance, Pair Dance, Ijad Dance Company, Drew McOnie Dance Theatre, Dam Van Huynh, Hagit Yakira, Dena Lague and Sophia Hurdley; festival highlights have included Olivia Vella, Daniela Larsen & Rob Guy, Eade & Perkins Presents..., MIKS, Nexus Dance, Pangaea Dance, Raymond Tait Dance, Taciturn, The Ticket Theatre Dance and Vex Dance Theatre.

Currently Cloud Dance Festival is self-funded, receiving its entire income through box office sales. This has so far been more or less sufficient, but the expansion of the festival has resulted in the need to hire higher quality venues and equipment and therefore we are in urgent need of funding in order to achieve this. In addition, we have been completely dependent upon our support staff working at reduced rates or for free, however we will need to start paying them for their services in order to retain them for future festivals.

The next year will be an important period of development for the festival. The festival recognises the need to secure funding in order to maintain and support the festival’s growth. The festival will face challenges of consolidating its position within the industry as well as establishing stronger relationships with audiences, funders and potential performers. We have applied for charitable status; this will help the festival meet our funding objectives and therefore provide better a environment for the new and emerging dance talent to thrive.

Future plans for the festival include developing the reputation of the festival, obtaining and sustaining funding, consolidating the festival identity, preparing audience development strategies and gaining wider participation, and developing relationships with other arts organisations, professional training institutions, local authorities and communities. Some of the initiatives we have identified for the next stage of the festival’s growth are:
-    commissioning new works
-    an Associate Artist scheme, to formalise our support of specific choreographers
-    Career development workshops, which will be open to non-participants
-    a series of industry-specific talks and debates, open to the public
-    An Awards scheme, to recognise exceptional talent
-    “Gala” festivals at the end of each year to present the best of that year’s performers

Cloud Dance Festival is committed to supporting the participating choreographers’ careers beyond the festival through promoting them and offering feedback from their performances. Plans to offer career development advice alongside the festival have been drafted. The reputation of the festival has been already recognised by the dance community in London and the festival has been recommended by Resolution! for career development opportunities.

The future sees Cloud Dance Festival developing further into a vibrant, thrice-yearly meeting for students, young professionals and innovative companies alike bringing talent and ideas together in a mutually supportive environment.