Exim Dance Company CIC

Exim Dance Company is a Plymouth based award winning dance company known for their fresh and vibrant approach and their ethos of improving lives through dance.  

Formed in 2011, Exim has quickly established themselves as an exciting and inclusive company in the South West of England. Exim exists to provide opportunities for ‘At Risk’ young people to participate in socially engaged dance classes. We are passionate about using dance to help vulnerable young people, breaking down the ideological barriers that surround dance, holding inclusivity at the heart of all of our work. To do this we believe that as well as delivering our own programme of work we must also provide high quality training and opportunities to students and professionals wishing to work as dance practitioners. The majority of Exim Dance Company’s community work is delivered in deprived areas of Plymouth or hard to reach communities; through an extensive weekly programme of community, outreach, educational and professional work.  

Exim Dance Company has toured nationally & internationally creating live performance work that draws on the curiosity and inquisitive nature of the artists involved. Productions include ‘Marked’ 2018, ‘Birth of Memory’ 2016-2018, ‘Etch’ 2016/2017  and ‘Impact’ 2014/2015. Exim’s work has been inclusive from its founding with a focus on developing work that is accessible to our audience members. In 2015 Exim Dance’s Intern won Intern of the Year at the National Awards for Creative and Cultural Skills. In 2015 Exim Dance were awarded a special commendation from Grads for Growth for their work to develop graduates.

Exim works across Plymouth and Devon delivering a wide range of community outreach projects that focus on using dance as a tool for social change, as well as a way to nurture talent and develop new audiences. Our mission is to improve lives through dance. Exim deliver an extensive weekly programme of classes in schools, colleges, in the community, outreach workshops and within professional settings.

‘As a dance artist working in the South West I’ve hugely benefited from these classes, not only as a practitioner but also as a participant. It was such a positive moment for me mentally to be invited to work on the classes at a time where almost all my other work was being cancelled, as well as valuable financial support. Exim created a regular class that I could attend without any financial pressure. Having access to free classes over this uncertain period has been a lifeline to me whilst on lockdown – it’s given me structure, connection with the local dance scene, and allowed me to continue training to support my career in dance.’

– Daisy Harrison – South West Dance Artist