MEET THE TEAM
Introducing the faces behind Tom Dale Company.
Founded in 2010 by choreographer and Artistic Director Tom Dale, Tom Dale Company is where dance meets digital art. We’re an innovative team of creatives known for our experimental approach – and we wanted to introduce some of the key faces in our close-knit team.
Tom Dale
Founder, Artistic Director & CEO, Tom Dale Company.
What does your role at TDC look like?
There really are no two days the same, which is probably one of the things I like most about the job.
Part of my role is keeping my own creative practice going. I try to keep moving and stay connected to dance through Gaga, improvisation and my own movement research. I listen to a lot of music, make playlists, explore new ideas and try to keep a solo creative practice alive alongside everything else.
Then there is the studio work. I might be working with dancers on choreography, exploring projection or interactive technology with a digital artist, developing the sound world for a new project with a composer, or bringing several collaborators together and working out how all those different elements can become one complete experience.
Other days are much more organisational. I work closely with our Executive Director on fundraising, budgets, strategy, touring and future projects. We might be looking at whether a performance opportunity is realistic, working out how to make a budget stretch, developing partnerships or thinking about where the company should go next. Resources are increasingly tight, so a big part of the job is being thoughtful, and sometimes inventive, about where we put our time and money.
I also work with production managers on the technical side of our shows, meet with venues, universities, artists and potential partners, research new ideas, tour existing productions, and spend time thinking, writing and trying to join all the dots together.
What’s your favourite thing about what you do?
One of my favourite moments is working with a group of collaborators, whether that’s dancers, composers, digital artists or designers, and suddenly something clicks. Everyone starts to understand what the project could be and you can feel the energy shift in the room.
I love that point when the studio has a really good creative atmosphere, ideas are bouncing around and the work starts becoming something that none of us could have made on our own.
The other side of that is sharing it with an audience. There is an incredible feeling when a performance really connects, when somebody is moved, exhilarated or completely absorbed by it. I particularly love hearing someone say, “I’ve never seen anything like that before”.
Creating experiences that allow people to lose themselves for a while, or encounter dance, music and digital art in a way they weren’t expecting, is a huge part of what drives me.
Favourite TDC projects?
It’s almost impossible to choose because different projects represent different moments in the development of the company.
I Infinite is very important to me because it was one of the first works where we really started exploring how choreography, projection, sound and space could all belong to the same world. It helped establish a direction that we are still exploring today.
SURGE is another favourite. We got to work with Ital Tek whose music I am such a massive fan of... I knew he would be perfect for the project. SURGE brought together dance, electronic music and digital projection in a very focused way, and it has continued to evolve into different formats, from the original theatre work to outdoor, 360 degree and VR and participant versions. I love that one artistic idea has been able to keep changing and finding new forms.
More Than Human, Tom Dale Company and The Light Surgeons
And I’m incredibly excited by More Than Human, which we are developing now. It pushes the collaborative process much further, bringing choreography together with film, spatial sound, generative visuals and ideas around intelligence, ecology and our relationship with the more than human world. It feels like many years of TDC’s artistic exploration are starting to come together in this project.
What connects all of my favourite projects is that they feel bigger than any one discipline. The aim is always to reach the point where you stop thinking about the dance, the music, the image or the technology separately and simply experience the whole thing.
Jim Hendley
Executive Director.
What does your role at TDC look like?
No two days look quite the same in this role, but here's a flavour of what a typical week involves for me at Tom Dale Company.
Mornings often start with the numbers. I'll check cash flow, review invoices, or liaise with our bookkeeper about our accounts. If we're mid-fundraising cycle, I might spend a few hours drafting a grant application or chasing down a funding lead.
Midweek is usually when strategy and people collide. I'll sit down with our Artistic Director to talk through where a project is heading, or how it fits into our five-year plan. Other days, I'm deep in HR matters, negotiating a freelance contract, or making sure our policies and insurance are all up to date and compliant.
Externally, I'm often the face of TDC. That might mean a call with Arts Council England about our NPO reporting, coffee with a potential partner organisation, or representing contemporary dance at a sector event.
Towards month-end, I'm usually preparing board papers, pulling together reports for trustees, or reviewing how our marketing and social media are landing with audiences.
It's a role that asks you to hold the big picture and the small details at the same time.
WHAT’S YOUR Favourite thing about what you do?
Nothing beats that feeling when it all comes together for a live audience.
The thing I find most inspiring about this role is watching a project move from a strategic conversation into something that actually lands with an audience or a community. There's real satisfaction in knowing that the financial planning, the funding bids, and the partnership building I do behind the scenes are what make it possible for Tom and the dancers to create ambitious, boundary-pushing work.
I'm particularly driven by advocacy for contemporary dance and digital arts. Part of my role is representing TDC externally and making the case for why this art form matters, whether that's to a funder, a partner organisation, or the wider public. Contemporary dance and digital work often sit at the edges of what audiences expect from live performance, and helping create space for that experimentation feels like meaningful work.
Primal Future, Tom Dale and Barret Hodgson, photography Tom Platinum Morley
The other piece that keeps me motivated is the people side. Supporting freelancers and creative teams so they can do their best work, without worrying about logistics, payroll, or compliance, means I get to enable other people's creativity even when I'm not the one on stage.
Favourite TDC projects?
I can’t forget the sense of wonder when TDC took over Nottingham Council House facade with Primal Future. I have never experienced Nottingham with that kind of energy, tens of thousands of people in a collective sense of awe.
Adam Towndrow
Senior Producer, Tom Dale Company.
WHAT’S YOUR Favourite thing about what you do?
One of the things I enjoy most is being involved in the development of new project ideas with Tom and Jim. Between us, we bring a rich mix of experience, skills and interests, which creates the perfect environment to build, challenge and inspire ideas together.
What I value most is that there’s no such thing as a silly idea. We’re all open-minded and willing to explore possibilities from every angle. While I’m not a technical person, I’m constantly inspired by the way Tom uses technology to push the boundaries of content, experiences and creative thinking.
My strength is helping to shape those ideas into something meaningful by providing context, identifying opportunities and connecting them with audiences. What drives me is the chance to create work that offers something different, something that moves people, sparks curiosity or leaves them thinking long after the experience has ended.
SURGE Open Air, Tom Dale and Barret Hodgson, photography David Wilson Clarke
Favourite TDC projects?
My favourite project has been developing Surge into an outdoor spectacle with Surge Open Air. A key challenge was reimagining an indoor experience for an outdoor setting and exploring how the context of space could transform the work.
What makes the project particularly special is its accessibility. It brings together live dance, live music and innovative technology in a way that allows many people to experience these art forms for the first time. It has genuine potential to engage and inspire new audiences, which is incredibly rewarding.
What are your interests outside of work?
Family – my biggest motivation.
Curry – always a treat.
Golf – my way to relax and switch off!
To keep up to date with Tom Dale Company’s latest projects, R&D, tours and behind-the-scenes snippets, follow us on socials @tomdalecompany.