Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance, announces that its new Chief Executive will be Jeanie Scott who will join the organisation in early November, taking over from current Chief Executive Jim Hollington on 15th November. The Board has also confirmed that Artistic Director Tony Mills has been invited to renew his initial term as Artistic Director, that is due to expire in September 2025, for another four years.
Jeanie Scott, a respected cultural leader with over 30 years’ experience working across the arts and creative industries as a consultant and director, joins Dance Base from Culture Radar, a UK-wide research and development consultancy that she founded in 2019. She is passionate about improving working and practice conditions in the arts, and the long-term sustainability of arts and culture for the benefit of communities and society. She serves on the national What Next? Leadership Group bringing cultural professionals together to debate and shape the future of UK arts and culture and is a Creative Scotland Clore Fellow.
Co-chairs of the Dance Base Board, Alice McGrath and Paul Fitzpatrick said “Jeanie has an incredible overview of the cultural sector in Scotland and has an exemplary approach to leadership. She will be an excellent successor to Jim Hollington to ensure that Dance Base continues to succeed and thrive. It continues to be an uncertain time for the arts and Jeannie’s skills and experience will support the artists, audiences and communities we work with, as well as the excellent Dance Base team.”
Tony Mills joined the Dance Base team in 2021 with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still being felt strongly within the organisation and Scotland’s dance community. An extension of his contract to 2029 will provide Dance Base with consistent artistic leadership, allowing the organisation to continue to build its unique artistic vision, support Scottish dance artists, and solidify strong relationships with some of the world’s most daring and innovative artists and dance companies.
Together, Scott and Mills will lead the organisation through the impacts of Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding Programme announcements expected at the end of October and the ongoing funding challenges being faced by individual dance artists as well as supporting Scotland’s freelance dance community through these challenging times
Jeanie Scott said “I first connected with Dance Base in my teens as an early career dancer. It offered something genuinely new for the city and the country – access to some of the most exciting dance professionals working in Scotland with a vibrant and diverse dance community to belong to. And 20 years on, Dance Base is still delivering – it’s a vital ingredient in the city’s cultural offer and an essential development support for professional dance artists in Scotland.
“I’m joining an organisation with strong artistic leadership, outstanding professional artists, a talented team and a vision I believe in and am passionate about – I’ll be working hard with the board and team to build its future.”
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 