The year 2022/23 saw Fallen Angels Dance Theatre complete the first full year out of the pandemic and deliver an increased range of innovative, creative and effective dance work which provided people in recovery with a platform for personal growth and achievement.

During the year the company worked with 119 individuals, ran 211 group workshops, delivered 35 outreach workshops and presented 37 performances and events, watched by 6,787 people. However alongside these statistics is the human face of Fallen Angels, the participants with a story to tell and a voice to be heard.

Our artistic process is grounded in the lived experience and this was evidenced by the completion of a beautifully crafted cinematic trilogy of 10 minute dance films, based on participants stories, entitled ‘Transfiguration’. The films focus on a series of key moments in the life of a person who experiences addiction, exploring craving, relapse and recovery. They were shown at a number of national and international film festivals, reaching new and wider audiences, raising awareness and understanding and creating new training opportunities.

Personal development and progress is vital to our work, as highlighted by the peer led (for the first time), project entitled Empowering Women and the success of the seven Angels who passed the Level 2 mentoring qualification, to become volunteer peer mentors.

Participants also led on the creation of  ‘Recovery and Me’, a quarterly social event which includes performances and an informative panel discussion for sharing views and experience and is open to anyone actively engaged in recovery.

The growth of partnership working in new areas led to workshops entitled ‘Recovery in Motion’ being held in Bolton and Salford  which attracted new participants and created demand for more work.

A new co- production with Storyhouse, based on Dr Faustus and choreographed, to great acclaim, by our Artistic Director, strengthened the ongoing beneficial relationship we have with the theatre.

During the year we welcomed two new trustees to the Board, Laura Dunn who brings much needed HR experience and John Horton with the insight and perspective of lived experience of the recovery journey as well as professional sector experience. The staff team was also strengthened immeasurably by the addition of Emma Stringfellow as the Finance and Operations manager.

Funding is always precarious and never guaranteed, so we are very grateful to the charities, trusts, organisations and individuals who support the work of the company, we wouldn’t exist without you. A special mention to Arts Council England’s Elevate Organisational Development Fund which has been instrumental in the growth of the organisation this year.

The Board of Trustees would also like to thank and acknowledge the ongoing work of our patron, Robert Fox and all the staff team who bring their passion, skills and knowledge and who are dedicated to changing the perceptions of addiction and recovery.

We plan to build on the range and quality of our work, focus on finding ways to increase our earned income and prioritise listening to feedback from beneficiaries.

There are exciting times ahead for Fallen Angels and all its participants, supporters and audience members as we continue to demonstrate the power of dance theatre and the role it plays in supporting individuals and their recovery.