Bringing creativity, connection, wonder and joy through dance to Surrey

While New Adventures is known for being a national and international touring company, our home base is at Farnham Maltings in Surrey. As one of our placemaking partners we work with Farnham Maltings and other cultural organisations to bring creativity, connection, wonder and joy through dance to Surrey.

In March 2025 we had our second annual LGBTQ+ response piece project. Working with Farnham Maltings and Surrey Libraries, we invited LGBTQ+ people from across Surrey to work with New Adventures' dance artist and choreographer Paul Smethurst to create an original queer-themed piece of dance theatre inspired by Swan Lake. The Flock celebrated the diversity of our participants and is testament to the work a community can do when given the opportunity to support each other and tell their stories. We performed to audiences in Farnham Library as part of the Farnham Literary Festival and Farnham Maltings. We will now do a series of legacy workshops with the group and we are delighted to announce that we will be offering the project again in 2026. Please join our mailing list for news of how you can take part.

We believe in nurturing talent and bringing the joy of dance to everyone and if you are over 55 then Next Adventures is for you. During our monthly classes at Farnham Maltings, dance artists dive into a different New Adventures production each term, teaching choreography from the shows and encouraging participants to explore movement and character creation. We are currently working on The Midnight Bell, our touring show for spring and summer.

We are very proud to have a residency at Woking-based performing arts school, Italia Conti, as part of our talent development programme. We work with second year dance students to explore the New Adventures methodology and practice. They are taught choreography from a New Adventures production, explore character and experience the creative process. We follow this with a mock audition for the third-year students, preparing them for the next step in their dance career.

While participation in movement is key to our work, we are also passionate about making dance performances available to everyone. Doorstep Duets is our flagship community project. Created in 2021 with Farnham Maltings to offer performances to people who were still isolating at home during the pandemic, the project is now a highlight of our year. Each summer a New Adventures choreographer creates an original piece of work with our dancers that is brought to people who might not see our work in traditional theatre spaces. Over the last four years we have performed in schools, retirement homes, town centres, libraries, hospitals, hospices, parks, museums, people’s back gardens, and even a boat. This summer we will spend two weeks in Surrey working with local partners to bring our work to your doorstep.

Words and images by Stephen Daly.