What this project looks like
This page provides visual and contextual evidence of the international exchange methodologies, site-responsive practice and professional delivery experience that inform the proposed B>InMotion Cumbria project.
The exchange methodology
B>InMotion Cumbria is informed by Barcelona International Dance Exchange’s B>Lab methodology — a facilitated, non-hierarchical approach that centres movement-led research, horizontal discussion and shared enquiry.
Each B>Lab is led by a facilitator who proposes a focus and supports a dynamic structure for exploration, reflection and knowledge-sharing. This methodology has been refined through international delivery since 2009 and will be adapted for a rural, place-based UK context, aligning with Dance Ahead CIC’s approach to working across multiple venues and non-traditional spaces.
Partnership & delivery experience
Dance Ahead CIC is working in partnership with Barcelona International Dance Exchange (BIDE), an established international network delivering professional exchange programmes across Europe and beyond.
Zoë Leigh Gadd has collaborated with BIDE since 2020 as an Artistic Collaborator, co-delivering B>Labs and exchange programmes in Barcelona, Cologne and Varna, and contributing to international programme design and delivery.
Visit Barcelona International Dance Exchange
Place-based and site-responsive practice
Alongside international exchange delivery, Dance Ahead CIC has extensive experience creating and facilitating site-responsive and public-facing work across cultural and non-traditional spaces. This includes working in civic, heritage and public environments, supporting access, curiosity and engagement beyond conventional theatre settings. This experience informs Dance Ahead CIC’s approach to delivering exchange activity across rural and regionally diverse contexts such as Cumbria.
Selected images from Dance Ahead CIC’s site-responsive and place-based projects:
The Final Toast – A Bite Sized Encounter: Site-responsive performance work created for informal, public-facing setting. Micro-commissioned for CumbriaFest25 for In the Soup. Lakeside Cafe, Keswick.
Dancing Spaces: Echoes of Place. Movement-based engagement in public and civic spaces. Scarborough Lights 2025.
Aquarium of Light – site-responsive performance in a civic outdoor setting. Commissioned for Scarborough Lights Festival 2024. Sun Court, Scarborough Spa
A Curious Christmas Quest: Public-facing, place-based engagement created for high-street and civic environments. Scarborough Lights 2025.
This page supports an Arts Council England Project Grant application for B>InMotion Cumbria.