Brendan Keaney OBE to step down as Artistic Director & Chief Executive at DANCEEAST

Brendan Keaney OBE will step down from his role as Artistic Director & Chief Executive at DanceEast at the end of July 2025, after 14 years in the role and a career in dance spanning over 45 years.

As Artistic Director & Chief Executive, Brendan has brought outstanding works to Ipswich nurturing strong relationships with the UK’s foremost artists and growing a new local audience for dance. He has led the way in removing divisions between creative and community engagement programmes, growing the organisation’s participation portfolio to record over 70,000 attendances annually, through activities that focus on using the life-enhancing power of dance to unlock positive benefits for communities, people with health conditions, and young people. Alongside this work, he has overseen the organisation’s investment in digital infrastructure, making the Jerwood DanceHouse one of the UK’s leading facilities for artists who are exploring how technology can enhance live performance.

Brendan Keaney was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to dance, and received an Honorary Fellowship from Goldsmiths, University of London in 2024. He says:

“It has been an enormous privilege to lead such a fantastic organisation, which is one of the most powerful forces in dance in the UK.

I can’t pretend that part of me is not very sad to be leaving such a wonderful job. I am incredibly grateful to my extraordinary colleagues, past and present, on both the Board and staff teams. It is hard to imagine a better situation. There is another part of me, however, that is very excited as DanceEast enters a new phase in its development. I have always been very conscious that I have only ever been the custodian of this very special enterprise. I feel certain that the best is yet to come!

There is a lot to do before I leave in the summer, not least working with DanceEast’s senior team to make an application to remain in Arts Council England’s National Portfolio, which is a significant piece of work. Most critically, however, I would like to use the next six months to leverage some additional investment into DanceEast. There is no doubt that the funding landscape is challenging, and I would like to leave the new leadership in the best place possible.

I am sure you will join me in wishing the Board well as they start the search for my replacement. I feel very confident that the passion for dance and commitment to the East of England, the legacy I inherited, will remain at the heart of DanceEast when the new leadership takes the baton later this year.”

DanceEast’s Board of Trustees has initiated the search for a new Artistic Director & Chief Executive, with more information on the role to be publicly available on 13 March.