In this week’s episode, we speak with Steve Batts, Artistic Director of Echo Echo Dance Theatre, about the latest—and deeply concerning—news that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Echo Echo’s primary funder, has withdrawn 100% of its funding for the company after 20 years of support.

This devastating news has shocked the arts community not just in Derry and Northern Ireland, but across the entire island.

Steve shares his perspective on how this decision will affect Echo Echo, the wider arts sector, and what it means for the future of cultural life in the region.

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company is based in Derry, Northern Ireland, with its home studios located in Waterloo House on the city’s historic Walls.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1991 by Ursula Laeubli and Steve Batts, the company toured extensively throughout Europe before relocating to Derry in 1997. Since then, Echo Echo has become a cornerstone of the region’s cultural life.

Echo Echo operates as an ensemble, favouring collaborative and co-operative working methods. Its core group of artists is committed to long-term collaboration and mutual support.

The company creates touring performances, site-specific and event-based productions, a festival of dance and movement, a vibrant programme of artistic residencies, performances by visiting artists and companies, and a wide variety of participatory projects.

Echo Echo’s work defies rigid stylistic categorisation. Rather than adhering to a single aesthetic, the company approaches dance as the art of poetic movement—similar to how poetry relates to everyday speech. This broad, inclusive approach enables meaningful participation across a wide spectrum of communities and experience levels.

Echo Echo is deeply committed to high-quality artistic practice and to making dance accessible. The company rejects a rigid distinction between “professional” and “participatory” work, instead fostering numerous ways for people to engage with the art form.

Echo Echo works with diverse groups including pre-school children and parents, schools and youth organisations, people with learning or physical disabilities, older adults, professional dancers, and multidisciplinary artists.

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