Rural Moves
Rural Moves: A series of podcasts exploring a decade of dance in rural communities
Since 2015 the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) has been facilitating extraordinary encounters between dance artists and rural audiences.
During a decade in which our relationship with live performance has been challenged by a pandemic, and the rise of the online attention economy, RTDI has resolutely championed the joy of intimate connections in community spaces around the UK.
In six 36-minute episodes, four hosts and their guests explore the legacy of RTDI, celebrate the people who made it happen, and look to the future.
Artists, choreographers, producers, promoters, project staff and partners reflect on their experiences over the last ten years.
Enjoy unique insights into this distinctly different approach to touring and what we can learn from RTDI’s 421 rural shows performed by 55 companies to more than 20000 audience members at over 400 venues across the UK.
Students, artists, producers, promoters, venues and audiences anywhere will find something to inspire in this joyful journey through a decade of dance.
Episodes
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
5 min
A brief guide to the world of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative and what you can expect from this series.
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
36 min
RTDI has been inviting audiences to experience dance in new ways for 10 years. We explore how we talk to audiences about something which is initially unfamiliar, and what we have learnt about overcoming barriers of language and perception, sharing some of the beautiful and extraordinary encounters artists and audiences have experienced along the way.
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
35 min
In rural touring dance artists and their companies are invited to perform in unconventional spaces without the convenience and technical capacity of a traditional theatre tour. What challenges and benefits are there for the artist in this different way of working?
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
35 min
Rural touring is not just a way of presenting dance but a way of bringing people together. Episode 3 of the series explores how artists, producers and promoters have shaped performances into social occasions. We’ll ask what makes a good night out in a rural context, how do dance events sit within community life, and what does the wider sector have to learn from this?
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
35 min
The structure of rural touring across the country varies but the role of the venue promoter, often a volunteer in their own community, is undoubtedly crucial to a successful event. Episode four in the series goes hyper-local and examines the role of this lynchpin, the venue promoter as curator, connector and cultural advocate
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
35 min
Christina Elliot (Head of Programming and Producing, The Place) returns to host episode 5 of the series and delve into how approaches to audience development that have been practised for many years in rural touring are gaining currency in other contexts. Christina asks what the ingredients to successful audience development are and how are they being employed across the sector.
Jun 4, 2026
Jun 4, 2026
37 min
Three of the lead partners of RTDI reflect on ten years of rural touring dance, the partnerships and networks that have grown around it, its impact on the dance touring ecology, audience development for dance and the work dance artists are making, what does it all mean for the future?