Future Makers: Celebrating 10 Years of TPD

Aim

This year marks 10 years of TPD, help us celebrate this milestone by reflecting on what we’ve achieved and investing in what comes next!

Help Us Raise £10,000 for the Future of Dance

This year marks 10 years of TPD, a decade of making work, teaching classes and workshops, and building a community through a shared love of dance. Over the years we have enjoyed nurturing dancers, supporting artists, and creating opportunities for people to experience dance regardless of background or circumstance. As we celebrate this milestone, we’re not only reflecting on what we’ve achieved, we're investing in what comes next.

To mark our anniversary, we’re launching a special fundraising campaign to raise £10,000 to sustain our existing programmes and introduce an exciting new initiative designed to support the next generation of choreographers.

Your support will help us continue to grow an inclusive, vibrant dance community while addressing real gaps in opportunities for emerging artists in Oxford and the South East.

What Your Support Will Fund

The funds raised will help us sustain and expand three programmes that already form the heart of our work:

TPD Young Artists (TPD YA)
Supporting talented young dancers aged 12-18 years old, as they develop their artistry, performance experience, and collaborative skills.

TPD Scholarship Programme
Providing financial support so that talented young dancers aged 10-18 years old, can access training regardless of financial circumstances.

Pay-What-You-Can Classes for Adults
Accessible dance classes that ensure people from all backgrounds can experience the physical, social, and creative benefits of dance. These include our Open Level Fridays Classes and our Pro Classes on Saturdays.

In addition to sustaining these vital programmes, your support will also help us launch something new.

Introducing: Future Makers UK

As part of our 10-year anniversary, we are launching Future Makers UK, a new professional development programme designed specifically for recent graduate choreographers.

Despite the vibrant cultural and academic life of Oxford, there is currently a lack of structured, locally rooted professional development for new contemporary dance-makers.

This means many early-career artists must regularly travel to larger cities for training, collaboration, and performance opportunities.

Future Makers UK will help change that.

The Programme

Future Makers UK will support emerging choreographers through a 10-week intensive programme including:

• Weekly masterclasses and workshops led by acclaimed choreographers and industry professionals
• A mentored co-creation process, where participants collaborate to develop new work
• Professional mentorship from an established choreographer
• Public presentation opportunities across Oxford and Brighton

This programme structure is inspired by the work of Dance Makers Collective in Sydney, whose model has successfully supported independent dance-makers in Australia. Following Thomas’ recent choreographic residency there, the organisation has kindly given us permission to adapt their approach to address the needs of the local dance ecology in Oxford.

The programme will be delivered in partnership with South East Dance, Dancin’ Oxford, and Pegasus Theatre.

Why This Programme Matters

While Oxford has a thriving arts scene, emerging dance artists often struggle to find consistent professional development opportunities locally.

Many artists currently need to travel to London or Birmingham for training and collaboration. This creates financial and logistical barriers, particularly for artists from lower-income communities.

Future Makers UK will help address this by:

• Creating local infrastructure for early-career dance-makers
• Providing affordable access to high-quality training
• Building stronger artistic networks within Oxford and The South East
• Supporting artists who might otherwise be excluded from the sector
• Spotlighting Oxford as a viable home for young professional dance artists

The Impact of Your Donation

By helping us reach our £10,000 target, you will:

✨ Sustain inclusive community dance opportunities
✨ Support talented young dancers through TPD YA
✨ Provide scholarships for dancers facing financial barriers
✨ Launch Future Makers UK, a brand-new programme supporting emerging choreographers

Most importantly, you will help ensure that the next decade of TPD continues to champion access, creativity, and opportunity for everyone.

Be Part of the Next Chapter

For the past ten years, our community has helped shape TPD into what it is today. With your support, we can ensure that the next generation of dancers and choreographers have the opportunities they deserve.

If you believe in accessible dance training, creative opportunity, and supporting emerging artists, please consider contributing to our campaign.

Every donation (big or small) helps us build a progressive and regenerative future for dance in Oxford.

Images 1 and 2 by Becca Hunt

Image 3 and header by Oxford Atelier

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 30th September 2026 at 12:00pm