Recognising the challenge and expense of staging dance with live music, we hope the fund will enable practitioners to activate plans that may not otherwise have been possible, making a difference to their progress and profile.
It began life in 2007 as the RPS Drummond Fund in memory of the writer, broadcaster and lifelong dance aficionado Sir John Drummond CBE. In the years since, it has supported a range of collaborations between composers and choreographers, as detailed here. It was set up by John’s long term partner Bob Lockyer OBE, himself a major force in British dance for decades. Sadly Bob died in 2022 and you can read our tribute to him here. In recognition of all Bob himself did, and his relationship with John, the fund now bears a new name: the RPS Drummond Lockyer Fund for Dance.
A generous gift from Bob’s Will has also replenished the fund so that we can continue supporting composers and choreographers for some years to come.
WHAT CAN YOU APPLY FOR?
We are pleased to announce two funding streams this year: ‘Performance’ and ‘R&D’ – a model we expect to continue in future. Applications are now open and will close at 11am on Tuesday 9 April 2024.
In your application you will be asked to provide key information, answer some questions about your initiative (which you can supply in written or simply filmed format), and complete our budget template in which you will need to state how much money you are ideally seeking from the RPS and what element(s) of the initiative the funding – if successful – would go towards.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Applications submitted for either stream must have a confirmed choreographer and composer. In keeping with all those the RPS supports, the composer may be an established or early-career artist but must have some proven acumen for writing music of character and distinction for live instruments / singers / musical electronics.
The choreographer should likewise be able to account their experience of bringing dance to the stage. The application itself can be submitted by either of them, or equally by a dance company or producer (including venues and festivals) with proven experience staging dance, who has confirmed the choreographer and composers’ involvement, and will play a central role in the collaboration.
For full details of the fund, and to apply, visit: https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/composers/commissions/dance