Virtual reality experiences and more at the new Southpaw Dance Studios at Sheepfolds Stables

The national dance company has long had a close relationship to Sunderland and has staged a number of lively and thought-provoking performances in the city over the years, from a fiery performance of Faust on the top floor of St Mary’s carpark to a Carousel stage at the Tall Ships Race.

Now, they’re settling into a new permanent space in one of the large former stable blocks at Sheepfolds Stables.

As well as being practice space and offices for the troupe, who tour the country with their shows, it will also host a number of performances for visitors to the stables.

Southpaw will also be collaborating with fellow creatives to make the unique space available to other artists and companies.

The cultural landscape in Sunderland has come on in leaps and bounds since Southpaw received their first commission for Rush from Sunderland Culture ten years ago and their new studio space will help to push the boundaries further.

The dance company was recently awarded £250,000 from Arts Council England, thanks to its Government-funded £24.2m Capital Investment Programme, and the money will go towards making their new Sheepfolds studio a space like no other.

They’ll be using the money to purchase augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) equipment to produce engaging, inclusive and creative shows for Sunderland and beyond.

As well as VR headsets for audience members to use for shows at the the Stables studio, it will also enable allow the company to buy specialist motion capture equipment, projection equipment and an aerial rig. It’s set to stamp the studio on the map as a centre for innovation and digital dance.

Artistic director Robby Graham said: “We’d be looking for a new studio, a creative space, but also one that accommodate the large-scale kit we work with.

“When I first walked into the site I got super excited. Back then, it didn’t have a roof and we had to use a lot of imagination as to how it would look but we knew it would be special.”

Bringing arts and culture to a wider group of people with community engagement pieces is a key part of the Southpaw ethos and they’re hoping their new digital productions, such as VR headsets where people will be able to see characters in 3D, will reach even more people.

The team gave Sunderland a teaser of their offering over the recent opening weekend, which saw thousands visit the new site, with a series of Breaking battles featuring some of the UK’s best Bboys.

Southpaw will soon release a programme of events which will be staged at the new Sheepfolds studio.

Robby said: “We use large community casts in ours shows to create ownership and civic pride, to facilitate the voices of people overcoming threshold issues. It’s so important to foster a sense that this is their space.” Southpaw Dance was one of the first to move into the new £4m Sheepfolds Stables site, which has given spectacular new life to once forgotten working stables.

It’s also home to food and drink operators, including Vito’s Osteria, Ember, The Calabash Tree, I Scream for Pizza, an outdoor stage, bars and a multi-purpose events space catering for everything from weddings to business meetings.

Over the water from Sheepfolds, the cultural spotlight is also set to shine on the former Coles Cranes site in Pallion.

The new £450m Crown Works Studios will be one of Europe’s largest TV and filmmaking complexes, with 20 premium sound stages lining the banks of the Wear, creating up to 8,450 jobs across the North East by 2033.

The ball got rolling on the project recently with North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, and members of the North East Combined Authority signing off the initial £25million needed to get started.

It’s anticipated that spades will go in the ground in the coming months for the creation of the first phase of the development.