Our Heritage

East London Dance has come a long way in the last three decades – we weren’t even called East London Dance when we started! But the creative energy and dynamism that emerges when artists and communities are brought together, has been a foundation of our work from those very early days right thought to the present.

Read our 30th Anniversary Impact Report here 

1987

Formed as East London Regional Dance Council by local dance teachers to enable schools and local community groups to work with professional dancers and companies

1994

Became regularly funded by what later became Arts Council England

1996

Relaunched with new name, East London Dance, becoming a regional dance development agency and registered charity

2001

Moved into Stratford Circus Arts Centre as a Founding Resident Partner and formed Leap of Faith

2002

Established the East London Youth Dance Company

2004

Began 10-year partnership with the Royal Opera House to create new work with young people and professional artists inspired by its opera programme

2006

Established London Thames Gateway Dance Partnership with Chisenhale Dance Space, Greenwich Dance, Trinity Laban and 10 local authorities to position dance at the forefront of social and urban regeneration 

2009

Became the Big Dance hub for east London, securing four-year investment from Legacy Trust UK to take dance into unusual spaces in 2010 and 2012

2012

Delivered a far-reaching and ambitious programme for London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and launched training programme The Fi.ELD (Future Innovators. East London Dance)

2013

Produced a special performance for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee performed in the gardens at Buckingham Palace and broadcast to over 3 million viewers on BBC1

2016

Formed Dance Cluster East with Sadler’s Wells, English National Ballet and Studio Wayne McGregor to create a world-leading hub for dance in east London 

2018

Produced East Wall in the moat of the Tower of London, with Hofesh Shechter Company, Historic Royal Palaces and LIFT, which was later named in the top 10 best dance of the 21st Century by The Guardian

2021

Established a new home for East London Dance and our creative communities at The Talent House as part of Sugar House Island alongside music partner, UD