We are excited to announce that Leap Dance Festival are once again partnering with Culture Liverpool to offer dance commissions of between £1000 to £2000, for:
- Work by LGBTQIA+ artists
- Dance film commissions
- Community commission working with global majority women
DEADLINE: 25th February 2026
Culture Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and Leap Dance Festival are delighted to once again support the development of new dance performance work via our Dance Commission Grant.
We are looking for proposals from creatives (as individuals or organisations) to:
- Develop their or other’s own dance practice.
- Create new dance work to be shared as a live performance or film.
- Impact communities and share dance with others.
- Be available to perform as part of Leap Dance Festival 24th April – 9th May 2026.
This year we have the following opportunities for artists
- LGBTQIA+ artists commission* – We are looking to support the work of LGBTQIA+ artists living and working in Liverpool. The work will be performed in an evening of curated works by local LGBTQIA+ artists at all stages of their career, the event will take place at Unity Theatre. (Applicants must be LGBTQIA+)
- Dance film commission – Creation of a new dance film to be shared during Leap 2026. The film will be shared both online and at events during the festival. See examples of previous film commissions here. (Open to all)
- Community dance commission – Working with a community group of Global Majority Women within danceforms of the African Diaspora on the creation of a new work for public performance. (Seeking proposals from global majority female artists – Can live outside of Liverpool City Council controlled areas)
*One of the LGBTQIA+ grants is ringfenced for an emerging artist. This is a co-commission with Homotopia as part of their artist support programme. The artist will create work to present at Leap 2026 and will have the opportunity to present a development of the work at Homotopia 2026 in November.
Leap Dance Festival is Liverpool City Region’s festival of dance celebrating our city region, the people that live here and the diverse communities that bring our city to life. Throughout May 2026, Liverpool City Region will come alive with dance. Performances will take place in theatres, in cultural venues, in parks and public spaces. Young people, community groups and professional artists will come together in a unique celebration of dance.
The small fund has been made possible with funding from UK Shared Prosperity fund (UKSPF) and Culture Liverpool, Liverpool City Council and will be managed by Chaos Arts CIC.
Fund amount:
Culture Liverpool and Chaos Arts CIC are looking to award grant commissions of between £1000 – £2000
We anticipate that we will be able to award 4 commissions via this fund.
