Overview

Derby Dance was established as a local dance development agency based at Derby Playhouse in 1991, before becoming one of the first wave of national lottery funded capital projects to aid its move to new premises in 1997. In 2008, the name of the organisation changed to Déda. Déda is the only dedicated dance house in the East Midlands region, acting as a local, regional and national resource for dance artists and the wider arts community. Déda houses a 124 capacity studio theatre, three dance studios, meeting room facilities and the CUBE café bar. It offers a weekly class programme and a year-round professional performance programme for children, young people and adults, and an extensive community development programme. By providing a ladder of creative opportunities for artists, audiences and participants, Déda aims to foster an understanding of and respect for dance and related art forms. In 2014, Déda re-developed part of the Queens Street Leisure Centre, expanding its facilities to include Meeting Rooms and Conferencing facilities, along with a brand new state of the art studio and production space. The theatre has also been dramatically improved to enable us to present larger scale dance productions – both by our own Youth Performance Companies and by National visiting companies. Déda now hosts a BA degree in Dance in partnership with the University of Derby. Déda's mission is to deliver an exceptional programme of dance, contemporary circus and outdoor work to as wide an audience as possible and be recognised for our outstanding contribution in the field of Dance Development and Learning. Whether it's offering you a one-to-one workshop, supporting curriculum in schools, or helping young people find their creativity and flourish as they achieve their Arts Award, our mission is to enable all to have their lives enriched through dance and the arts.