Company of Others

Company of Others was founded in 2016 to be a safe and courageous artistic space for people who are othered, and we’re building a movement of people who can change that. 

We are based in Walker, Newcastle. The ONS would say that 73.1% of the area live in poverty, but we say it is our home. We haven’t moved to Walker, it’s where we grew up and it’s where we run free-to-access movement programmes now for all ages. From the children in Walker Youth Dance Project to our elders group Ensemble we work with 900 people per year and we are using movement to build the capacity of our community to have agency, deliver change, and improve their mental health.

We want everyone to move with us, but we know that Dance as an art form has historically excluded a lot of Global Majority people, especially in The North. This is why we run a raft of artist development programmes including small bursaries and residencies to ensure everyone can choose the career they want.

Working with our community, and the artist groups we have supported, we co-create huge national productions. They are sometimes on stages, and they are sometimes in very cold seas (Grief Floats). These provide the first large scale credits for some artists, they show the phenomenal creativity in Walker to the world, and they are now redefining what is possible in an art form.

But, we are not just an organisation. We are a movement formed of real people, and it is only with these people that we are able to make this change. Movements need lots of different roles to be successful – some people are participants in our programme, some people advocate for us, and some people join the movement through donating.

We’re a tiny charity that punches way above our weight and we work hard to make sure  all of our work is either free, or pay as you feel for anyone who wants to experience dance. You can help us maintain that commitment by making a regular or one-off donation.

All of our supporters will receive a bi-monthly newsletter and be invited to specific events.