Recommended ACTIONS

Liverpool’s dance sector holds clear potential for growth and development. The evidence gathered through Liverpool Dances points to strong demand from audiences, deep commitment from artists and practitioners, and a wide range of organisations already contributing to the cultural life of the city. What is currently missing is the structure, coordination and sustained investment needed to turn this potential into long-term impact.

Investing in dance in Liverpool is not only a cultural opportunity, but an economic and social one. A stronger dance sector can support employment, attract visitors, animate communities and enhance wellbeing. It can also help position Liverpool as a city that values movement, creativity and participation, strengthening its cultural offer locally and nationally.

National evidence shows that dance makes a significant contribution to the UK economy and to public health and wellbeing. Applying these lessons locally demonstrates that supporting dance in Liverpool can deliver benefits far beyond the sector itself, from community cohesion to skills development and cultural tourism.

However, the research also makes clear that progress will not happen through isolated projects or short-term interventions. Addressing long-standing challenges around funding, visibility, infrastructure and inclusion requires a more joined-up and strategic approach.

From the evidence gathered, three core priorities for action emerge to support a strong future for dance in Liverpool and the wider city region.

Together, they offer a realistic yet ambitious framework for strengthening the sector, supporting artists and organisations, and ensuring audiences across the city have access to high-quality dance experiences.

Three Top Priorities

Each priority action is expanded on below, outlining what it could involve and the steps needed to help bring it to life.

Across the UK, many cities benefit from a lead dance organisation that provides coordination, advocacy and strategic support for the sector. These bodies play a vital role in connecting artists, practitioners and organisations, supporting learning and collaboration, securing and distributing funding, and leading programmes that grow audiences and participation.

Liverpool currently lacks this kind of dedicated infrastructure for dance. The absence of a central body has contributed to fragmentation, limited coordination and reduced capacity for long-term development. Establishing a lead dance organisation would help address these challenges by providing focused leadership, supporting the delivery of programmes and initiatives, and creating clearer pathways for artists, organisations and communities.

Survey responses showed strong support for the idea of a lead organisation to champion dance in Liverpool, alongside understandable caution. Respondents raised concerns about inclusivity, adequate resourcing and the risk of grassroots voices being marginalised. These concerns are important and underline the need for any new organisation to be properly funded, transparent and genuinely representative of the breadth of dance practice in the city.

A lead dance organisation would not replace or absorb existing organisations, groups or collectives. Its role would be to support and enable them, providing a shared framework for collaboration, advocacy and development. By bringing the sector together under a common strategy, it could strengthen funding opportunities, improve coordination and help ensure that artists and organisations are not expected to carry strategic responsibility without the resources to do so.

Despite the challenges, the evidence clearly points to the need for a dedicated body to help stabilise and develop dance in the Liverpool City Region as a whole. With the right leadership and support, a lead dance organisation could play a central role in realising the opportunities identified through this research and in building a more resilient, inclusive and ambitious future for dance in the city.

1. A Lead Dance Organisation

Developing a robust, multi-year strategy and business plan, grounded in the Liverpool Dances research. This should clearly set out mission, vision, values, strategic priorities, intended impact, governance and a sustainable financial plan, alongside the core programmes and initiatives the organisation will focus on delivering.

Appointing experienced leadership and governance, with the skills, credibility and sector knowledge to build trust, establish strong governance structures and lead the development of the new organisation with transparency and purpose.

Securing sustainable funding, covering both initial set-up and early delivery, to ensure stability, manage risk effectively and avoid placing further strain on artists, practitioners or existing organisations.

Co-developing delivering priority programmes and initiatives, in partnership with, and shaped collaboratively by artists, practitioners, groups, organisations and sector leaders. These should form the core activity of the organisation.

Building strong local, national and international partnerships, learning from existing dance development organisations and working collaboratively rather than competitively to maximise impact and avoid duplication. Alongside this, actively connecting with world-class dance companies, performers, teachers and practitioners to bring more high-quality performance work to the city region, expand opportunities for classes, workshops and professional development, and enrich the overall dance offer.

Embedding evaluation and learning throughout, ensuring the organisation remains responsive, accountable and able to adapt as needs, opportunities and context evolve.

By taking a measured, inclusive and well-resourced approach, a lead dance organisation could provide the structure and support needed to help Liverpool’s dance sector move from potential to long-term impact.

What this would involve

Strengthening Liverpool’s dance sector requires a focused and coordinated approach to programming, participation and collaboration. Expanding opportunities for artists, practitioners and organisations will help build consistent audience engagement, support career development and establish Liverpool as a city with a visible and confident dance offer.

Delivering this effectively will require sustained investment and commitment from key partners and funders. While some progress could be made without a lead organisation, the research indicates that a coordinating dance body would be best placed to oversee, connect and deliver many of these initiatives at scale.

2. Support, Bolster & Expand

What this would involve

Bolster Existing Venues & Programmes
Work with venues and organisations that already programme, or have the potential to programme, dance. Targeted funding and support could enable more regular dance activity, reduce risk for venues, and increase visibility for artists and audiences.

Invest & Grow LEAP Dance Festival
LEAP Dance Festival represents a significant opportunity for Liverpool. With strong artistic leadership and audience appetite already in place, investment should focus first on strengthening its foundations, reducing administrative burden and supporting consistent delivery. With the right resources and strategic partnerships, LEAP could then expand its commissioning, collaboration and participation, establishing itself as a flagship international dance festival for the city.

Expand Community & Schools-Based Programmes
Increase the reach and consistency of dance activity in communities and schools through classes, workshops and engagement programmes. Investment in this area would support wellbeing, build future audiences, and create paid opportunities for practitioners, while strengthening dance’s presence at grassroots level.

Develop a Strategic Marketing & Communications Approach
Establish a more coordinated and sustained approach to promoting dance across Liverpool. This could include seasonal campaigns, shared platforms and clearer signposting for audiences, helping to build awareness, habit and trust. A consistent rhythm of promotion would improve reach and deliver stronger returns on investment.

Increase Investment for Independent Artists & Small Groups
Create a more consistent and accessible funding pipeline for independent artists, small groups and emerging organisations. This would support creative development, reduce talent drain from the city and provide clearer progression routes for practitioners.

Support Established Organisations to Collaborate & Grow
Offer advisory and development support to organisations seeking to expand their dance programming or partnerships. This could include guidance on collaboration, co-commissioning and alignment with the city’s wider dance strategy.

Establish a Liverpool City Region Dance Network
Create a network to connect artists, practitioners and organisations across the Liverpool City Region. This network would support knowledge-sharing, collaboration and collective advocacy, helping to rebuild relationships and strengthen the sector’s voice.

Strengthen Engagement with Dance Consortia North West (DCNW)
Develop a clearer and more strategic relationship with DCNW to understand how regional support can better align with Liverpool’s needs. While collaboration is essential, the scale and significance of Liverpool’s dance sector requires tailored leadership and local coordination.


By prioritising these actions and investing in programming, collaboration and visibility, Liverpool can strengthen its dance sector in the short term while laying the foundations for sustained growth, increased participation and long-term cultural impact.

3. Facilities: Capitalise on Assets & Capital Ambition

Developing high-quality, fit-for-purpose facilities is a long-term opportunity for Liverpool’s dance sector and one that requires careful planning, sustained investment and time. World-class dance facilities do not happen quickly, but the evidence points to a clear need to begin shaping that future now.

A purpose-built dance venue has the potential to be transformative. It could provide flexible, high-quality space designed specifically for dance, support artist development and professional practice, attract major companies to the city region, and raise the profile of Liverpool as a destination for dance. In the longer term, such a facility could also play an important role in generating income and supporting the sustainability of the sector.

At present, dance activity in Liverpool takes place across a range of existing buildings, many of which were not designed with dance in mind. These spaces are often scattered, limited in capacity and constrained by competing programming demands. As a result, artists and organisations face challenges accessing regular, free or subsidised rehearsal and development space, while facilities themselves frequently fall short of contemporary standards in terms of layout, accessibility, technical provision and sustainability.

In the short to medium term, there is an opportunity to make better use of existing spaces. This includes identifying buildings that could be temporarily adapted or developed to support dance more effectively, improving access to rehearsal and development space, and demonstrating demand and usage through consistent programming. Doing so would help strengthen the case for future capital investment while delivering immediate benefit to artists and practitioners.

Looking ahead, the long-term ambition should be for a purpose-built, centrally located dance facility. Designing a new building from the ground up allows for fully accessible, flexible and environmentally responsible spaces that meet the needs of artists, audiences and communities. A new build also offers the opportunity to think more broadly about use, incorporating performance, participation, health and wellbeing, learning and skills development, and commercial activity within a single cultural hub.

Any future facility should be developed as part of a wider strategy for the dance sector, rather than as a standalone solution. It should complement investment in artists, programming and participation, and be shaped in partnership with the sector, the city and local communities. A central location would maximise accessibility, visibility and economic impact, supporting collaboration with other cultural organisations and contributing to the wider vitality of the city centre.

What this would involve

  • exploring options for short and medium-term additional space use

  • building evidence of demand, usage and impact

  • begin first steps to explore new venue feasibility and planning

  • working closely with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and local authorities to align with wider development priorities and identify opportunities

  • securing early-stage funding for proper research, feasibility and design

By beginning this work now, Liverpool can adopt a phased approach to facilities development, making better use of existing spaces in the short to medium term to expand provision and support artists, while also laying the groundwork for the long-term ambition of a new, dedicated dance facility. This approach allows immediate benefit to the sector alongside careful planning for a world-class, fit-for-purpose space that can serve the city for generations to come.