Joan Clevillé was just seven years old when Scottish Dance Theatre came into being. Back then, in his Barcelona home, he could scarcely have imagined how a tiny outfit in the Scottish city of Dundee would eventually play such a pivotal role in his life. Clevillé joined the company as a dancer in 2009, becoming artistic director ten years later, and is currently steering SDT through its 40th anniversary celebrations.

It’s a success story for sure, but then again, that’s exactly what this organisation was set up to do: create opportunities and transform lives. In 1986, when Royston Maldoom first hatched a plan to form Dundee Rep Dance Company, it was to satiate the appetite of young dancers hungry for work. ‘Royston had done a lot of groundwork, running community dance programmes,’ explains Clevillé. ‘These young dancers were getting really good, but didn’t have a company to aspire to. Nobody could have anticipated what Dundee Rep Dance Company would become, though. When I introduce the company to people in other countries, I have to explain that it wasn’t planned this way. It wasn’t like someone said: “Let’s create a flagship national dance company for Scotland”. It very much came from the grassroots.’ 

With just four performers at the start, who rehearsed in schools, church halls and anywhere else they could find, today’s dancers now spend their days in a £1m studio opened in 2004. Housed within Dundee Rep, it helped make SDT an increasingly viable option to outsiders. Dancers, teachers, choreographers and designers, hitherto unaware of the company, began to sit up and take notice of this ambitious group punching above its weight. 

Several artistic directors can take credit for the incremental blossoming that has taken place over the past four decades; in particular, Janet Smith whose 15-year tenure saw SDT attract innovative dancemakers from around the world. ‘With the arrival of Janet in 1997, it became an international repertory dance company,’ says Clevillé. ‘But there’s something at the core which has stayed in the DNA of the company and that’s how it connects in a really genuine way to communities and people.’

In keeping with its twin commitments to work with global dance pioneers and take care of local audiences, SDT’s 40th year involves a healthy mix of both. Its Scottish Roots tour earlier this year took work inspired by Scotland to smaller, rural locations. This summer, the RECollect project will feature a new work created with local communities. And their anniversary double-bill has been choreographed by US-born/Sweden-based Emilie Leriche and Edouard Hue from Switzerland.  

‘I’m very excited about this programme,’ says Clevillé. ‘In particular, I’m excited about the contrast between their two choreographic signatures, which are very distinct. Emilie’s piece, Rotten Work, has an almost lyrical quality; it’s poignant and thoughtful in a way that I don’t think anything else in our repertoire is. And with Edouard, there’s a much more urban, messy quality to his work, The Game Of Life. It’s more raw and visceral, but also very playful.’

Clevillé’s approach to commissioning, hiring and programming is resolutely outward looking and forward thinking. As the only SDT dancer who has gone on to be its artistic director, he knows what fits but is also aware how important it is to keep moving forward. ‘The fact I was a dancer here meant I knew the heartbeat of the company. One day you’re performing for 35 people in a village hall in the Highlands, the next you’re on a plane to China. I also arrived at a time when the company was doing a lot of work around disability, equality, equity and diversity. I hadn’t been exposed to any of that in my previous dance company and it had a strong impact on me.’

Describing his leadership at SDT as ‘building on what was already there’, Clevillé has ensured Maldoom’s original vision is alive and well. Except now, dancers from far and wide want to be a part of it. ‘When we held our last auditions in May 2025, we had almost 800 applications from dancers based in the UK, all over Europe and beyond. So people definitely know about this company that started in a small city as a kind of community initiative, with four dancers and no studio. It’s quite a remarkable story and one that I think everyone should be really proud of.’

Scottish Dance Theatre: Rotten Work & The Game of Life, Friday 19 & Saturday 20 June; RECollect, Friday 26 & Saturday 27 June; all performances at Dundee Rep.

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