For the latest in our series of Featured Business from our CQFinder community, we spoke to Laura Savage, co-creative director/producer of Nottingham-based company Next Door Dance.
Give us your elevator pitch – what does your business do?
We are an all-female dance company based in Nottingham. We are a friendly bunch who are passionate about creating performances that are exciting and relevant to a wide range of audiences - especially those that might believe dance is not for them.
Tell us about a piece of work you’ve completed that you’re currently proudest of?
The Grandest of Stages is a short film we made in 2018 with a brilliant Nottingham based cast of 213 participants, ranging from 5 to 75 years old! We worked with a mix of football and dance enthusiasts who generously offered their energy and creativity to help create this tribute to our nation's favourite sport. The project was linked to our touring show The Beautiful Game which showcases Britain’s love/obsession with all football things. Notts County were a great support throughout the whole project and we got to work with so many fun, new and interesting people. We engaged so many people from all walks of life and connected with dancers and non-dancers alike.
We are also incredibly proud of all our youth dance projects and companies, especially when our Nottingham based youth company were selected to perform at the Southbank in London in 2019. You can find out more about our youth companies and projects on our website.
What do you love about working in Nottingham?
We love the people we get to meet and work with, each project we deliver opens doors to meeting new people from across Nottingham, who are so open, friendly and always up for trying something new. We also work with some amazing youth dancers who are based across the whole of Nottingham. We feel lucky to be able to bring them all together to teach and support them on a weekly basis. On the whole, Nottingham is a very talented, creative city with lots of opportunities and events across all art forms. We are very lucky to be a part of it!
Share your love for another Nottingham creative or digital business you work with or admire.
We love Dance4 and NonSuch Studios, they’re both brilliant organisations offering so much support and opportunity for artists, audiences and participants in dance and theatre. Both are great hubs for all creative things!
Let us know what you’d do on your perfect Nottingham day (global pandemic notwithstanding!) – where do you go/eat/drink/shop?
I think we would all start off with a bit of a wander around the shops, (we love a dig in a good charity shop, Sue Ryder in particular) stop off for a bit of tapas at bar Iberico (preferably outside so we can watch people) followed by a coffee on the terrace at Broadway, or if it is a working day, grab a sofa at Blend for a meeting. With cake obviously!
Then in the evening there is so much choice, maybe catch a show at NonSuch, or have a cheeky cocktail at the Pelican Club, maybe eat some more delicious food there. And if it’s a friday we’re all big fans of Friday nights in Sneinton Market, we’d get some nice street food, have a couple of drinks with friends and probably meet some new ones!
You can find out more about Next Door Dance and get in contact with them via their CQFinder profile here. If you'd like to create your own CQFinder profile, click here.
