What’s Been Happening in the Anjali World?
Over the last six months, a lot has been happening in the Anjali world and we have some very exciting updates to share.
Daisy has been busy delivering two talks: one at Active Oxfordshire’s Tackling Inequality Event to an audience of over 100 people, and another careers talk at Frank Wise School in Banbury. She has also supported the delivery of Young Anjali DDP in Banbury. Daisy was also interviewed as part of the CANVAS project, Derby Theatre. We’re incredibly proud of Daisy and all the fantastic advocacy work she continues to do.
Lauren has delivered two performances and six workshop sessions at ALP SEN School in Nuneaton. She has also been developing a new creation and recently completed the com.dance Cultural Bridge UK Residency at DMU.
Holly performed and led workshops of her solo across Rugby, Coventry, and Kenilworth Libraries. Holly also performed and co-led workshops at the Access Sport multi-sport festival in Birmingham. She also took part in the com.dance Cultural Bridge UK Residency at DMU.
Nick has continued developing his new solo, The Whole of Me, alongside wrap-around workshops and engagement activities to accompany the performance. We’re so excited to share more of this work with you next year.
Nick has also been shortlisted for the Unlimited Open Awards. He is among the 5.8% of applicants to progress to the second stage. We are incredibly proud of the work Nick is doing to shape the future of disabled-led art in the UK.
Liam has started developing a new studio duet with dance artist Will Hodson. He’ll continue working on this into the new year, with plans to take it into community settings once complete. This is Liam’s first solo-led project with Anjali, and we’re so proud to see him flourishing.
Com.dance Cultural Bridge Residency
The UK residency took place at DMU in October and saw both Anjali dancers and com.dance dancers, continue to develop and share their work through a series of studio performances. The two companies worked together to create a non-verbal form of communication through dance.
Bloodsuckers: The Film.
We’re excited to share that Bloodsuckers: The Film has sunk its teeth into a spot at the Midnight Monster Club Short Film Festival.
With over 20,000 monster-loving members in their fan-led festival, our film is about to meet its biggest crowd yet, showing in the IMAX in Texas. Our dancers, armed with choreography by the legendary Lea Anderson MBE, are more than ready for their Texas debut.
Commissioned by The Space Arts, with funding from Arts Council England and support from Deda, Bloodsuckers just keeps spreading its wings, continuing to thrive here in the UK and now charming audiences overseas too.
Stay tuned… who knows where Anjali will be seen next!
Banbury Canal Festival
Our Banbury Open Class participants, alongside some of the Young Anjali DDP dancers, opened the Banbury Canal Festival on 4 October.
In true British style, the performance was moved indoors after the weather took a turn for the worse, but the dancers performed beautifully and received glowing feedback from the audience.
A huge well done to everyone involved and to the whole team who helped make it happen!
December, 2025
Cultural Visits
As artists, it’s so important to stay connected with the arts and culture in as many ways as possible. Over the past few months, we’ve been extremely fortunate to visit Lakeside Arts several times to explore the exhibitions on display and create creative responses to the artwork. Recently, we have seen Kate MccGwire: Quiver and Material Worlds by various artists, both of which provided enriching stimuli for our dancers to create some beautiful work.
We also visited Attenborough Arts Centre and explored Crip Arte Spazio: The Disability Arts Movement in Venice. This was a deeply moving and significant exhibition for our dancers and our company. Each dancer connected with different pieces of art and used these as a foundation for creative exploration.
These experiences continue to enrich our practice, offering inspiration and deepening our connection to our art form. Thank you to the Lakeside Arts and Attenborough Arts Centre teams for making these visits possible.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
Fancy a sneak peek at some of these responses? Head over to our Instagram to see the videos.
BD Festival
Our Director Alex joined Outdoor Arts UK’s Festival Focus Programme and experienced the Bradford Festival 2025.
Alex watched over ten shows from local, national, and international artists and companies, and also had the opportunity to meet the programme team and Ivan (Artistic Director, Puppets with Guts), who created the headline parade.
It was a fantastic opportunity for our team to continue learning and bring valuable insights back to Anjali Dance Company.
Inclusion Training
Alex (Director) and Natalie (Producer) recently delivered a full day of Inclusion Awareness Training with the staff team at The Mill in Banbury. The session focused on deepening understanding of best practice and supporting the team to reflect on their short-, medium-, and long-term goals for inclusion within their setting.
We love delivering training that encourages teams to think critically and creatively about inclusion. If this is something you’d be interested in, please get in touch. We’d be delighted to discuss how we can tailor a session to your needs.
News story written by Lewis Gardner