State of Emergency Productions

State of Emergency is an arts production and management company with a commitment to developing and profiling Black choreographic work, including contemporary and other dance forms, and is at the forefront of pushing the boundaries in the profile and the development of Black dance in the UK. The company seeks to make positive changes in the national dance ecology and works both nationally and internationally towards creating a strong place for Black dance in the national culture. Since 1986, State of Emergency has gone from strength to strength, providing opportunities for hundreds of performing artists in the field of dance and music covering a wide range of projects. The company has a proven track record in selecting and developing talent and is proud of its associations with some of the leading names in the contemporary arts scene.



State of Emergency is led by Deborah Baddoo, who trained at the University of Surrey and went on to gain an MA in Performance Arts at Middlesex University. In 2006 she was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and in 2010 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Dance. Furthermore, State of Emergency are the lead organisation for this project, having put together the idea for the project, as well as galvanized the Black Dance sector. SOE currently also leads the Strategic Alliance for Black Dance, an ACE supported network of black dancers, choreographers and producers committed to the long-term development of the sector.