Dancing with the Derby Dracula – Call for Dancers

We are delighted to announce that we have a paid opportunity for new and emerging dancers to be part of our IAA funded project ‘Dancing with the Derby Dracula’. Details are below and we can’t wait to work with you.

Derby Dracula and Danse Macabre are looking to co-create an approximately twenty-minute dance piece inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) that draws on the history of the novel’s adaptation, including Hamilton Deane’s 1924 production, which premiered at Derby’s Grand Theatre.

We’re looking for a group of three to five professional and semi-professional dancers who are excited by the gothic possibilities of dance and the power of adaptation in bringing canonical stories to new audiences. We welcome applications from dancers of all backgrounds and will support access needs.

You do not need to be a formally recognised collective. We welcome new and emerging performers who are excited to work together, including current or previous members of the same dance course, school or crew.

You’ll be provided with an information pack, curated by the Danse Macabre team, that will help inform your creative practice and process. Throughout, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your approach and how the piece responds to the brief. You will have significant control over choreography and mise-en-scène. Whilst you do not need to be a choreographer, we would like people who are comfortable devising their own work. We’ll be inspired by your creativity and originality in responding to the research into Dracula and its many adaptations.

Rehearsal space in Derby can be provided if needed, so the opportunity may best suit dancers from Derby and the surrounding area.

This is an AHRC-funded project, through the University of Hertfordshire’s Impact Acceleration Account (IAA). This is a paid opportunity with a separate budget for costume, set and props.

The project fee is £2,500 in total for the group with an additional £300 for expenses. Payment will come from the University of Hertfordshire. We envisage three devising days, ideally run as an intensive in the days before the performance.

The final piece will be performed during Dracula Returns A.D.2027 (a conference and celebration, 14–16 May 2027) and will be filmed; the film may be shown at later Derby Dracula events. This film can be used by the dancers with due reference to Derby Dracula, Danse Macabre and the AHRC.

As this work forms part of a research project, you will be asked to provide feedback on the process and its impact. This feedback will be conducted in line with ethical research protocol, overseen by the University of Hertfordshire.

Application details:

Deadline: 13 November 2026.

What to send:

• Individual or collective artist biographies, explaining who you are and what you have done;
• A supporting statement explaining why you are interested in taking part in the project;
• Examples of previous work – images and video accepted.

Please send to: dansemacabre@outlook.com.

Online interviews will take place in the week of 23 November 2026.