The Roses and GDance put Gloucestershire centre stage

The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury and the county’s leading dance production and training agency, GDance, are pleased to announce a joint initiative to establish the Tewkesbury based arts centre as an inclusive dance hub for the county. 

Already recognised by the Arts Council as a Beacon For Dance, The Roses is thrilled to be working more closely with GDance with the aim of raising the profile of dance on a local, regional and national level.

“The Roses has always had a vibrant dance programme”  “but we know we can do more to encourage a greater number of people to experience it. Working with GDance in this way is a bold step towards making this happen” . Beckie Smith, Marketing And Press Manager at The Roses

Complete with their successful bid to the Summerfield Trust for a contributing sum of money to help fund the initiative, 

" We're certain that working together on this joint initiative will ensure that dance provision in Gloucestershire is made more prominent on the national map". - Fiona Nevada, Marketing Coordinator at GDance 

The initiative will see both organisations working together to: 

• develop audiences and participants for cross county dance events; 
• develop a centralised online hub for dance enthusiasts and practitioners; 
• develop an artists in residence scheme at The Roses;
• increase market and consumer intelligence through data collection and sharing; 
• and raise the profile of dance through a combined media strategy. 

The online dance hub is an interactive resource for audience members and industry professionals to find out more about what’s happening in the county and to stay connected. Listing all the dance events at The Roses, and some at other venues, the hub will spring board you direct to specific booking pages so you can book tickets for your chosen events within just a few clicks of a mouse. 

Dance industry professionals will be able to stay connected with one another by using an interactive forum facility, contribute to discussions and link to other dance service websites and and news feeds, 

People within the media will be able to to take content from the news feeds helping to raise the profile of dance.


With an artist in residence scheme in place, The Roses will be able to develop a name for itself as a venue that not only hosts exciting work, but that creates it too, taking raw material and developing it into a professionally produced piece. 

Producing its own work, aside from we well received annual pantomime, is a brand new area of opportunity for The Roses. 

“The opportunities associated with the Artist In Residence Scheme are endless. So often the work in the rehearsal room is secret and private, yet at The Roses we aim to make it as transparent as possible so whoever wishes to witness ‘art in progress’ can easily do so” - Sarah Blowers, Take Part Director at The Roses

Working together to share resources and research will enable both The Roses and GDance to share learning, benefiting from the outcomes and from the economies of working together. Working under the joint aim of raising the profile of dance on a local, regional and national level, the returns will be greater than the sum of its parts to the benefit of all - audiences, dancers and the local community. 

Visit the Roses Box office to see what's on now www.rosestheatre.org.uk