Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) has announced the release of IN MOTION, a new documentary film exploring the artistic journey, challenges and achievements behind one of the North East’s leading contemporary dance companies.
Premiering online on 24th June 2026 at 7pm, the film marks the first time Creative Director Eliot Smith has spoken in depth on camera about the story of ESD and the company’s evolution over the past fifteen years.
Filmed by award-winning filmmaker Elijah McDonnell, IN MOTION offers an intimate and reflective portrait of Smith as he looks back on the foundations of the company, its creative development, and its enduring commitment to community, place and artistic collaboration.
Centred around The Cage Shop at Woodhorn Museum – a former mining colliery that has served as a significant creative home for ESD since 2016 – the documentary unfolds across a series of striking locations throughout the North East of England. Together, these settings reflect both the region’s industrial heritage and its contemporary cultural identity, reinforcing the company’s deep connection to place, community and artistic storytelling.
It was within Woodhorn’s historic setting that Smith created a contemporary dance work inspired by the Ashington Group, further connecting movement with the region’s artistic and social heritage.
Born, raised and continuing to work in the North East of England, Smith has developed a body of work rooted in regional storytelling. Across its fifteen-year history, ESD has presented a diverse repertoire by internationally recognised guest choreographers, including Mark Baldwin OBE, Balbir Singh MBE, Sir Robert Cohan and Paul Taylor, while also touring and performing in cities including Rome, Paris, London, New York and the North Denmark Region.
The film captures both the personal and professional realities of sustaining an independent contemporary dance company, while celebrating the impact ESD has made across communities and audiences alike.
As arts journalist David Whetstone recently noted, Eliot Smith Dance is “a company which has earned its place in the region’s cultural fabric.”
For further information, head to eliotsmithdance.com.
