Our Drama and Dance programmes are put together based on:

• Our aims and objectives (globally and within each country)
• Our geographic priorities
• Our target audiences
• The suitability of a project for a particular country and audience
• The quality and appropriateness of a piece of work

Even if a project fulfils all criteria we may still not be in a position to help with support due to other plans and budgets.

Our aims and objectives

Our global arts team works with the best of British creative talent to develop innovative, high-quality events and collaborations that link thousands of artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK. Read more about our aims and objectives here.

Our geographic priorities
We work across the world in those countries where we have offices, but we do also always have specific geographic priorities. Particular priorities at present are:

• The Islamic World
• China
• EU accession countries and new member states
• Sub-Saharan Africa

Read more about our regional goals here.

Who is our target audience?
Young adults - roughly defined as being aged between 16 and 35. This is the age group that research indicates is most willing to countenance changing its impressions of another country and culture. We also frequently engage with older and younger audiences, depending on the population demographic in a particular country.

What works where?
What we programme in particular countries depends very much on audience taste, considerations of language, current perceptions of the UK, any need for developmental work and the cultural situation locally. Our UK arts team and arts officers in each region have extensive knowledge of all of these things and continually update this knowledge through dialogue with our partners, advisors and contacts.

How do we work with UK artists?
We put together a programme of UK Drama and Dance work in each region/country. This is typically planned over a year or longer in advance with our offices overseas and in-country partners.

It's very rare that we can support artists who want to go abroad following an independent invitation from overseas. In general support will only be considered where the nature of the proposed project fits in with our programme of work in that region/country and if there are surplus funds available. Our programmes are our priority and therefore we are not often able to support or subsidise tours or bookings from third party sources (for example, an invitation to perform at a festival or a tour that simply requires subsidy).

We would however encourage UK artists to keep us up to date with the work they are doing – where and what you are touring, new partnerships you have forged, etc. We need to know when you are performing so we can try and come and see the performances for assessment purposes.

How do we assess work?
We have a team of theatre and dance specialists based in our London office who frequently go to see performances around the UK and keep in touch with UK and overseas contacts and audiences. Through this work we build up a picture of the UK performing arts scene and work being created and an idea of whether a particular piece of work would be appropriate overseas. We also call on advice from key industry figures about work and artists they believe to have international potential.

How do we let our networks know about UK Drama and Dance?
If work is seen which seems particularly suitable for an overseas market we will actively promote it to our overseas partners and colleagues. New opportunities for British artists are constantly being created through this continual dialogue and advocacy.

Furthermore, we also help overseas promoters and our local British Council arts managers coming into the UK all year round, to see and choose work but also to build up a broader, more accurate context for the work they see. We organise specific visits to key dance and drama showcases/festivals. On top of this, the Drama and Dance team itself organises showcases, the most prominent being a biennial theatre showcase at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Our publication Performance in Profile also helps to let a global audience know about what is going on in the UK performing arts scene.