How to Apply

Apply to be in one of the U.Dance South East Regional Platforms, JUMP START ‘27 at The Venue MK in Milton Keynes on Saturday 17 April 2027 or Making Waves at The Dance Space in Brighton on Sunday 18 April 2027. The selected groups and soloists will rehearse during the day and showcase their dance pieces live on stage in the evening. 

"I really enjoyed the opportunity to perform a piece that is so meaningful to me, and being able to dance in such a lovely environment." Dancer, U.Dance South East Regional Platform 2026

Groups and soloists who dance at the U.Dance South East Regional Platforms 2027 will be considered for shortlisting for One Dance UK’s U.Dance National Festival, which takes place in the summer.  Dates and location of the U.Dance National Festival will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Deadline for applications: 12noon, Wednesday 20 January 2027

To apply you must complete and submit the following by the deadline:

· All sections of the online application form – URL link provided below 
· The online equality and diversity monitoring form – URL link included in the application form
· Your dance film submitted by including the URL link to the video in your application form

Apply through ONE of the U.Dance South East Regional Platform application forms below: 

JUMP START ‘27 in Milton Keynes on Saturday 17 April 2027 application form:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/jumpstart27

Making Waves in Brighton on Sunday 18 April 2027 application form:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/makingwaves27

All applications MUST be made via one of the online application forms above
Or
By telephone. Telephone application time slots can be arranged by contacting Naomi on email: naomi.poole@southeastdance.org.uk

A regional panel of dance specialists will consider all applications based on the One Dance UK criteria and eligibility guidelines [link to Who can Apply] and invite a number of dance pieces to be part of the U.Dance South East Regional Platform at either JUMP START ‘27 or Making Waves as part of the U.Dance South East Regional Platform  

All applicants will be notified of results by 5 February 2027

In making their programming selections, the regional panel will refer to the criteria used for all U.Dance Regional Platforms: 
1. Demonstrate excellence in performance
2. Present excellent and engaging choreography*
3. Show dancers taking clear ownership of the choreography, which is appropriate for their age and experience*
4. Demonstrate respect and consideration to all (demonstrated through both the group’s conduct at the U.Dance regional platform and the appropriateness of performance content).

*A note on choreography: Excellent work selected for the U.Dance National Festival in previous years has been created by group leaders, teachers, young people, professional choreographers and any number of collaborations. There is no preferred ‘type’ of choreographer and no weighting in the selection process is given to who created the piece.

Please note:

The online application form will take approximately 40-45 minutes to complete. 
Please allow time to complete the full application form. 

It is advisable to set some time aside to prepare your application prior to completing and submitting the online application form. You may wish to save your responses in a separate document first, then copy and paste it over to the online application form when you are ready to submit.

The list of questions is available here  for your reference to allow you to prepare for completing the online application form.

The link to the equality and diversity monitoring form is included in the online application form.

Guidance notes for filming and submitting your footage can be found in filming guidelines. 

If selected for the U.Dance Regional Platform all the dancers in your group, chaperones and supervising adults must be available for the full day and evening on the date you apply for: Saturday 17 April or Sunday 18 April 2027. 

Regional panel decisions will be based on the One Dance UK criteria above and, in addition, will prioritise creating a varied programme with diversity of representation across the south east region.

The regional panel will consider groups and soloists who have not performed at a U.Dance Regional platform before or in recent years, alongside groups who have showcased their work within the last couple of years. 

Decisions on selection and numbers of dance pieces will take into consideration: scheduling, platform running time and venue capacity for number of dancers backstage. 

If you would like to only apply to JUMP START ‘27 in Milton Keynes and not be considered for the U.Dance National Festival 2027 please contact MÒTUS for an application form. Email: schools@motusdance.co.uk
 

>> Return to U.Dance South East 2027 landing page