Early Career Artist Support Programme 2025 Launches with Two Emerging Artists
Together with The Work Room, we launched the Early Career Artist Support Programme 2025 last week, a programme that provides emerging dance artists and choreographers with a package of support to help them navigate the early stages of their careers in Scotland. The programme will run from 1 September 2025 – 31 August 2026.
We are excited to announce the first two artists to kick off the programme: Ruth Walker and Mabel Blair.
Ruth Walker
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.
“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.”
Mabel Blair
Mabel 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.
“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”.
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.