“The choreographic — enquiries into the emergence and operation of choreographic practices”
Rose Choreographic School is an experimental research and pedagogic project based in Sadler’s Wells East, London, UK.
We propose a postdisciplinary approach to the question of the choreographic, and use an expanded notion of a school to frame our explorations. There is no set curriculum or syllabus, and no predetermined outcome; the focus is on coming together as a community of researchers to discover the conditions we need for study, speculation and articulation.
Who can apply
Applications are open internationally. There are no fees to apply or participate in the Cohort. The School is aimed at a postgraduate level but we welcome applicants who do not come from traditional training or academic backgrounds.
We are open to applications that explore any kind of research practice into the choreographic, whether arts-based or not. We do not teach choreography; we imagine together the choreography of a School. To do this we support enquiries into the emergence and operation of choreographic practices, rather than towards the development of finished pieces of choreography.
What you get
This Cohort will run from April 2027 to March 2029, during which 9 artists will each receive a £15,000 research budget, access to dance studio spaces at Sadler’s Wells East, and mentoring and production support.
Who are we?
The Rose Choreographic School is an experimental research and pedagogy project, based at Sadler’s Wells East, London, UK. We are a small team of 2; Martin Hargreaves, Head of School, and Izzy Galbraith, Producer. We work para- and cross-institutionally and in collaboration with people from all practices and inclinations for whom the concept of the choreographic is a central concern. We propose a postdisciplinary approach to this question of the choreographic, and use an expanded notion of a school to frame our explorations.
The School interacts with researchers and audiences in a variety of ways. We host a podcast series, þ thorns þ, where guests are brought together to discuss research and the choreographic, and we host a wide range of other artistic research publications on our website.
Every 2 years we also have an open call to invite artistic researchers to form an Artistic Cohort. Across a 2 year cycle, each researcher in the Cohort follows their singular choreographic enquiries and collectively imagines a school with us, through which knowledges and practices can be developed and shared.
Why do we call ourselves a School?
We use the idea of a School to explore the potential of collective study. Rather than adopt conventional institutional patterns or frameworks we are focused on the core principle that schools are gathering places for teaching, learning and exchange. We are not teaching choreography but asking what happens when people are brought together to think about the choreographic.
We, as the Head of School and the Producer, are referred to as the Faculty. The artistic researchers who are invited for each cycle are referred to as the Artistic Cohort, rather than as students. The School hosts a regular schedule of in-person meetings where the Faculty and Artistic Cohort come together. These meetings are called Cohort Assemblies and are focused on the question of how to experiment with the conditions needed for learning. Faculty and Cohort work together to plan and programme these Assemblies. There isn’t a set syllabus, or an expectation of a predetermined outcome, and there is no curriculum other than the discourse that emerges and shapes how we work, think, move, and make together.
Why is it a Choreographic School and not a School for Choreography?
The main reason for this distinction between the choreographic and choreography is that the School actively seeks to be choreographed by all the people who interact with it, rather than engaging in the teaching of dancemaking. Choreography is often (but not exclusively) used to name the production of authored dance works. The choreographic is often (but not exclusively) used to name broader processes of thinking and working with systems, attitudes and dispositions towards the organisation of movement. The School is oriented towards the latter, towards enquiries into the emergence and operation of choreographic practices, rather than towards the development of finished pieces of choreography. In the School, the choreographic can refer to choreography, and to the writing of dancing bodies, but it can also refer to modalities of generating and circumscribing movement which don't register as dance, or as art works.
What do we offer the Artistic Cohort?
This second cycle of the School will run from April 2027 to March 2029, during which 9 artists each receive a £15,000 research budget (distributed in monthly stipend payments), access to dance studio spaces at Sadler’s Wells East, and mentoring and production support. There are no fees to apply or participate in the Cohort.
The Faculty will work with each member of the Artistic Cohort on a support plan in order to understand the evolving needs of their research practice. As Head of the School, Martin can offer dramaturgical support, mentoring and critical feedback. As Producer of the School, Izzy can offer administrative and production support, including budgeting, scheduling and contracting. Each member of the Artistic Cohort has different needs and the Faculty will work responsively across the cycle with them. The Artistic Cohort members are asked to complete an Access Rider as a live document that informs how they work with the Faculty and the broader communities of the School.
The School cannot produce or present finished performance works at Sadler’s Wells but does offer the Artistic Cohort the opportunity to share research materials on the School website and social media platforms.
The Faculty and Cohort convene in-person to work collaboratively on the choreography of the School at Cohort Assemblies across the 2 years. These Assemblies are held at Sadler’s Wells East in London, and are scheduled for 8 days every 2 months. The School will cover costs associated with travel into London and accommodation for the duration of School Assemblies.