Northern Irish dance company loses core funding

A Londonderry-based dance company has lost all its funding from Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI).

Echo Echo, which had previously received grants from the ACNI via the body’s annual funding programme, had applied for around £112,000, but the bid was rejected.

A statement from the company said the decision has come as a “great shock”. The the funding would have covered three staff members’ wages plus additional overheads at the organisation.

While it said it expects to continue all of its current programmes and keep its studios open for at least the next three months, the dance company added that without the funding it faces an “immediate existential threat”.

An ACNI spokesperson told the BBC that investment in dance in Derry and the north west of Northern Ireland “remains a priority”.

A meeting between Echo Echo and the arts council is scheduled to take place in the coming week.