Call out – Reciprocal Gestures: movement in dialogue

At the core of this programme will be two commissions inviting artist duos to develop the first iteration or early stages of a new work to be shared during the festival.  

Selected via open call, these commissions offer dance and movement-based artists space to bring their practices into dialogue, to test out new ideas and take risks together.  

We’re open to the shape these presentations take at the festival – perhaps the duo performs in the café bar or share five minutes of movement in the theatre followed by an informal discussion; they may lead a movement workshop or present a durational performance in our community garden. The main intention of these commissions is to cultivate conversation between practices and open this dialogue to our broader community.  

• A fee of £1000 each  
• Travel and accommodation costs 
• A £300 production budget per commission  
• 5 days in-kind studio space at Chapter or the partner venue nearest to you (Pontio, Theatr Soar or Aberystwyth Arts Centre) 
• Technical support and equipment 
• Mentoring from Bakani Pick-Up (Artistic Director, National Dance Company Wales), Kit Edwards (Performance Curator, Chapter) or an artist or industry professional from our broader networks  

• Artists at any stage in their practice 
• At least one artist in each pair to be Welsh or Wales based 
• New or established partnerships  
• We’re open to applications from duos made up of one dance or movement-based artist and one artist from another discipline, however, movement must be the focus of the collaboration 

• 5pm on Friday 24 April: deadline
• Week commencing 4 May: all artists are informed of the decision 
• 15 May – 12 June: 5 days studio time  
• 13 and 14 June: Reciprocal Gestures festival  

1. Names of collaborating artists  
2. Email  
3. Where are you both based (at least one artist must be Welsh or Wales based) - if in Wales, please specify which area 
4. A short bio (100 words max each or 2 minutes video/audio each) for your individual practices  
5. Please tell us why you want to work together: have you worked together before? What makes you curious about each other's practice? (200 words max or 3 minutes video/audio) 
6. What would you like to explore and bring into dialogue during this commission? (200 words max or 3 minutes video/audio)  
7. Links to previous work/social media or websites 
8. Is there anything else you’d like to share

Artists can apply via the short application form by 5pm on Friday 24 April.  

We’ll then select two commissions and be in touch with all applicants during the week commencing 4 May. The selection will be made by the programming team at Chapter. 

If you have any access needs or questions relating the application process or the commissions, please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0) 29 2031 1069.