Phoenix Dance Theatre - the pioneering Leeds company taking the world by storm

From companies to venues, our county has more reason than most to walk with a swollen chest when we think of our theatrical heritage. Perhaps nothing should make us feel more pride than the story of Phoenix Dance Theatre.

Seriously – a dance company formed against all odds by three black British men at a time when it felt like black lives really didn’t matter – that has gone on to tour the world with the labels of Yorkshire, Black, Dance and Theatre emblazoned across its chest. Next year Phoenix will celebrate its 40th birthday and while it falls without the parameters of my lockdown theatre profile pieces, being a company not a theatre, it is a necessary addition to the series I’ve been writing since our theatres went dark at the start of the Covid 19 lockdown.

To tell the story of Phoenix we need to travel back to 1981 and the Harehills suburb of Leeds. An extraordinary woman called Nadine Senior, who would go on to found the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, spotted three equally extraordinary young men, then pupils at Harehills Middle School.

She took them under her wing and David Hamilton, Vilmore Jones and Donald Edward went on to become the founding members of Phoenix. Like all theatre companies, Phoenix is facing an uncertain future. For Phoenix, there is an added issue in that its inspirational leader Sharon Watson moved on from the company (to run Northern School of Contemporary Dance) not long before lockdown and it was in the middle of the search for a replacement when the world turned upside down. The company isn’t quite rudderless; Charis Charles is the company’s executive director and is running the show while a new artistic director is found.

“We are the longest standing contemporary dance company outside of London and one of the few mid-scale contemporary dance companies to employ a permanent company of professional dancers,” she says.

“I was drawn to the company because of Phoenix’s illustrious history and the extraordinary quality of the work we produce. We’re at an interesting juncture being temporarily without an artistic director. I’ve been at Phoenix for over ten years and I felt that my knowledge and history within the organisation would help as we embarked upon the next chapter of the company’s journey.”

Phoenix has gone through a few turbulent phases during its four-decade long history, sometimes looking like it might disappear forever. Rising from the ashes is a cliché I am not alone in being guilty of deploying when writing about the company in the past. Darshan Singh Bhuller was the man in charge when I started writing about the arts in Yorkshire and I was there to witness the eventful period when Javier de Frutos was appointed artistic director in 2006 for a couple of years.

Watson’s appointment in 2009 was a long time coming. Charles says: “The great thing about Phoenix is that we are custodians of its stunning and rich catalogue of work which has been innovative and ground-breaking. In recent years Sharon Watson’s Windrush was a huge success both with audiences and critics. I think part of the reason why people responded so well to that piece was because it told an important history that people don’t get to see represented enough.

“Black Waters, which debuted earlier this year (and whose tour was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic), also told an extremely important, overlooked history. It is crucial that audiences know these stories and understand the impact they have on today.”

That work is made by a permanent company, a key feature of Phoenix that sees it employ a regular company of dancers, in the impressive Leeds base which it shares with Northern Ballet Theatre.

“Having this building, which was completed in 2010 and contains some of the best ​studio facilities in the country, is a huge asset for the dance sector both regionally and nationally. Before lockdown, the building was always bursting with activity, whether that’s performances in the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre, ​company rehearsals and academy classes in the studios, ​or young people visiting from local schools. We can’t wait to be able to go back there once again.”

One of the reasons Phoenix has faced such turbulence over the past 40 years is that sometimes the company has forgotten what it is, where it came from: three young Black men from Chapeltown. With the work Watson has created with the company in recent years, it feels like it’s remembered.

“We’ve gone from strength to strength over the last four decades. We’ve brought and will continue to bring our work to new audiences across the world. Whether it’s Black Waters or Windrush: Movement of the People, ​or the exciting plans we have in place to celebrate our Birthday year in 2021, we offer our audiences the opportunity to see and experience world-class performances.”

Great plans, but we’re beginning to understand what Robert Burns meant about plans.

Charles says: “The pandemic has had a huge impact. Once this is over we will definitely be more resilient and adaptive. I think, most of all, we’ll just cherish the opportunity to take our work on tour again.”

Importance of dance and the arts

Phoenix’s executive director Charis Charles on dance: “We’re living in very turbulent times, and dance, as well as the arts more generally, has a huge part to play in how we recover and build a better future. When an audience watches dance live in an auditorium, everyone is connected in that moment. It’s a beautiful and unique experience. We’re looking forward to being with our audiences in this way once again.”

For more information about Phoenix Dance Theatre and to make a donation to help the company through this difficult time, visit their websit at www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk

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