Tangled Feet unstitch and re-sew Spalding’s famous history of trade, shipping, forging and flowers. Mixing physical theatre, music, fire, pryotechnics and dance alongside the fabulous South Holland landscape Tangled Feet dig into the past to explode the present.

Over two days characters appeared in and around Spalding, searching for a means to survive and thrive, to work and to rest. They discover and celebrate water, plant seeds and dance with flowers, trade their wares in the market and make metal bend at the forge.

Aug 2nd and 3rd, Spalding

Tangled Feet are unsuccessful in application to join Arts Council NPO

Tangled Feet are disappointed to not be joining the Arts Council’s National Portfolio. We are a small organisation and charity who have been achieving big results on project-by-project funding for some time, which we will continue to do.

We are one of a very few physical theatre ensembles in the UK, and one of only a handful working both indoors and outdoors.

We had hoped to have our unique contribution and impact recognised as part of the National Portfolio.

Tangled Feet believe that theatre is for everyone – not just for a metropolitan cultural elite. Our dedicated ensemble of artists tour free-to-access, highly visual performances for thousands in audiences all across the country, and run dedicated participatory programmes with hundreds of young people, including those at risk, in care and with SEN. We create paid training opportunities in the arts to those who might otherwise be unable to afford high university fees.

As a small company reaching big diverse audiences on limited means, it is frustrating to see large amounts of investment going to expensive buildings which already have the ability to leverage significant income from corporate and commercial support.

The financial stability that NPO funding could have brought us would have allowed us to realise some big ambitions and to attract support from other sources. Furthermore, it would have been a welcome recognition that the outdoor arts have the power to transform places, bringing exciting, inspiring, sophisticated performance right into the centre of people’s lives.

There are a large number of arts organisations in the sector who are lean, agile and creating excellent yet often undervalued work in a huge range of contexts.

It is these organisations, often working outdoors, that will be reaching the audiences of tomorrow.

The biggest investment in TF comes from the people we work with; from the continued commitment of our artists and from our large family of audience and participants. It is this long-term investment that has fortified us for a decade of making work, and will see us well into the future.

Were you one of the 6,000 people that joined in the performance of One Million in Brighton?

Did you take any photos of us? If you did, please upload them to www.tangledstreets.com – you can log in using a Facebook or Twitter account.

We hope you can be a part of the Tangled Feet Tour this summer:

One Million:

Fri 23 & Sat 24 May, 9.45pm

Black Rock, Brighton

Push:

18th May, 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm – Wandsworth Festival

18th & 19th August – Alnwick Gardens

23rd & 24th August – Birmingham: Summer in Southside

30th August – Apetite Festival

31st August – Disco Loco, Hackney

The Crossing:

20th, 21st & 2nd June – Imagine Watford Festival