BBC Performing Arts Fellowship Awards £10,000 to Choreographer John Ross and Swindon Dance

The BBC Performing Arts Fellowship (PAF) have announced that they will be funding Swindon Dance to host dance choreographer John Ross as One to Watch for 2015. John is only one of eight dance-artists amongst the 32 recipients, fighting off stiff competition from the 100 artists who also applied for the fund.

Swindon Dance will offer professional support, training and development opportunities in addition to the PAF grant of £10,000 to John Ross, who recently won the Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Choreographer Award 2013. The fund is part of the BBC's commitment to develop talent across the whole of the UK.

Response from John Ross: "This fellowship is an incredible opportunity to have the space and time to develop my practice. The fund is such a crucial thing to have for artists in my position as it allows a growth and gives a structure to develop, without the pressure of the fear of failing".

Marie McCluskey said "This fund provides a great opportunity to have a next generation artist like John Ross working with Swindon Dance over the coming year, creating new work of his own as well as becoming involved in our local and regional dance ecology".

Follow @BBC_PAF #32onestowatch for updates on our Fellows progress or visit www.bbc.co.uk/performingartsfund/.

The Fund is a BBC Charity committed to developing new performing arts talent from across the UK. The charity is funded through revenue from the voting lines of BBC One entertainment programmes. Over £5 million in grants has already been awarded via the Fund in the past 12 years.

Miriam O'Keeffe, Director of the BBC Performing Arts Fund says:

Thirty-two amazing talents from across the UK will benefit from a year of sustained support from wonderful arts organisations, enabling them to really build on their talent and reach their potential. The diversity of the Fellows, from opera to spoken word, theatre to dance, from Northern Ireland to Southampton, shows a real commitment by the BBC Performing Arts Fund to support the sector.

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