Early Career Artist Support Programme 2025-2026

Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room are active in nurturing a thriving and diverse ecology of dance in Scotland.

Together, we offer an Early Career Artist Support Programme for 2–3 emerging dance artists and choreographers, providing practical guidance, mentorship, and resources to support them as they take their first professional steps in Scotland. The programme runs each year from September through August.

As part of the programme, each artist receives:

  • One year of free membership to The Work Room & access to their membership programme;

  • One year free attendance at Professional Contemporary Class, running on Thursday and Friday mornings from 9.30am-10.45am at Queen’s Park Govanhill Church, Glasgow;

  • Individual mentoring session with Natasha Gilmore (Artistic Director & choreographer of Barrowland Ballet) and/ or Anita Clark (Director of The Work Room);

  • Shadowing opportunities with Barrowland Ballet, including rehearsals of touring work and delivery of their participatory programme such as intergenerational company, Wolf Pack;

  • A budget of £200 towards additional training, attending performances or professional development.

2025-2026 Recipients

We are excited to announce the first two artists to kick off the programme: Ruth Walker and Mabel Blair. 

This new programme marks an exciting step in supporting the next generation of dance artists in Scotland, and we look forward to following Ruth and Mabel’s journeys over the coming year.

Ruth Walker

Mabel Blair

Ruth Walker

“I am incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Early Career Artist Support Programme. I’m particularly looking forward to shadowing Barrowland Ballet on their projects, connecting with the wider dance community, and diving deeper into my love of creating and choreographing.”

Ruth is a dance teacher and choreographer with a passion for storytelling through dance and movement. She trained at Dance Inc Studio Centre and, since 2019, has been teaching classes to children and adults across Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Livingston in a variety of settings. Her choreographic work The Verdict was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year as part of Springboard, produced by Edinburgh College and PASS Dance.

Mabel Blair

“I am very excited to be a recipient of the Early Career Artist Support Programme this year. I am looking forward to the opportunity to foster new connections within the dance sector in Scotland and further develop my artistic and choreographic practice with the support and guidance of Barrowland Ballet and The Work Room”.

Mabel Blair is an independent dance artist and choreographer from Scotland. Having graduated from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in July 2025 with a BA in Modern Ballet, her work and practice fuse contemporary dance techniques with elements of classical ballet to create narrative driven works that expand the discourse around esoteric themes and bring these to light through imaginative storytelling.