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Musical Futures. Photo: Nitro

Greenwich Theatre is set to relaunch ‘Musical Futures’, its annual festival of new music theatre (pictured) as part of its creative partnership with Nitro (originally Black Theatre Co-op). Greenwich Theatre has presented the festival in seven of the past eight years, but this year’s showcase festival will explore circus skills, a cappella song and contemporary dance as well more traditional music theatre.
w: http://www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

Plans for a new building to house Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre have been given the go-ahead by Leeds City Council. The £12m building will comprise seven dance studios, a 200-seat studio theatre, office space, a health suite and a costume workshop. Alongside the two professional companies, it will eventually house a full-time classical dance school and Leeds Metropolitan University’s dance degree courses. The building is scheduled to open in 2010.
w: http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/momentum

Nine arts and music festivals have won this year’s Greener Festival awards, including The Big Chill, Shambala and Hydro Connect. Based on an assessment of issues such as event management, greenhouse gas emissions, fair trade, waste management and noise pollution, points are awarded for festivals which can show an active plan to promote public transport, reduce on-site waste, recycle and compost wherever possible, reuse water and use sustainable power.
w: http://www.agreenerfestival.com

New child protection guidelines have been developed by the Volunteer Development Agency for the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The guidelines, which form the basis of free child protection training, are for use by organisations within the local arts sector. They outline legislative and good practice guidelines for working with children. Organisations are advised to take the guidelines and adapt them to suit their specific activities and organisational structures.
w: http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/2008/files/childprotection.pdf

Details of the new immigration rules for business and sportspeople, entertainers and special visitors have been released by The United Kingdom Border Agency, replacing permit-free concessions. The new Entertainer Visitor category allows entertainers to enter the UK for up to six months without having to first obtain a certificate of sponsorship to take part in designated major arts festivals, music competitions and charity events.
w: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/managingourborders/ businessandspecialvisitors/statementofintent.pdf

‘Building inclusion: Physical access guidance for the arts’, a new report by Arts Council England, outlines everything arts organisations need to do to be accessible and welcoming for physically disabled people. The report covers arrival and circulation, toilet facilities, audience space, staff and artist facilities, signage and navigation, and maintenance and safety.
w: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publications/publication_detail.php?browse= recent&id=633

Goldsmiths and University College London are collaborating to examine the relationship between computer science and the arts. Areas of focus include art, architecture, design, music, computer games and cognitive science, and a key aspect of the project will be the application of new research in methods of archiving cultural history.
w: http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/experts; http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk