About Us

Chaos Arts C.I.C.

Chaos Arts C.I.C. are the team behind Leap Dance Festival, we formed our C.I.C. in 2022 as a way of furthering the work we were doing in community and education settings across Liverpool City Region.

Our directors have a wealth of experience in the arts having worked across multiple arts organisations in the local region.

Our Story

From the ashes of what was Merseyside Dance Initiative, Chaos Arts C.I.C. rose. Following the closure of MDI in 2022 the local dance community were faced with the possibility of losing a vital space for artists and the essential infrastructure of regular programming in the city region.

Our directors decided that it was vitally important to resurrect Leap Dance Festival as a way to attract investment to the region, provide much needed opportunities for artists, community groups and young people and continue the legacy of MDI. We began with no resources just the will and determination to increase opportunities in the region.

Since then, we have worked tirelessly on reshaping Leap Dance Festival and connecting with the city region to ensure that dance as an art form is visible, accessible and celebrated by the public.

Having received a small pot of funding from the UK shared prosperity fund awarded by Culture Liverpool on behalf of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the UK Government, we set the wheels in motion for what was to come.

With the support of local artists we created a dance film forming the basis of a crowdfunding campaign. The campaign was backed by over 220 individual supporters raising over £5000 and caught the attention of funders, sponsors and local businesses.

The buzz surrounding the successful crowdfunding campaign and Leap Dance Festival returning has helped us to build partnerships with venues, funders and higher education institutes. During a time when the arts are facing increased pressures and venues and dance organisations across the country are facing closure, this is no small feat.

We are delighted to be bringing Leap Dance Festival back after a five year hiatus and are excited to share our programme with you. This year we are celebrating the incredible talent that we have in our region, featuring international artists that live here but often can't showcase their work here.

Leap Dance Festival returns 26th April 2024 with a glittering array of local talent and it's all thanks to you, the people of Liverpool City Region.