MeshGround Announces Weathering Grounds: A Choreographic Dance and Movement Residency for Climate, Care & Justice

MeshGround (Sri Lanka), is proud to present Weathering Grounds, a hybrid choreographic research residency in collaboration with Alleyne Dance (UK) and ClimArts (UK/India).

Since its inception, MeshGround – a leading contemporary dance company and movement platform, has become a dynamic hub where dance transforms into a language for dialogue, activism, and critical inquiry. Founded by Umeshi Rajeendra and Shonaka Ranatunga, MeshGround’s creative work spans a range of groundbreaking performances that combine contemporary movement, live sound, poetry, and immersive staging.

MeshGround also operates as a training and research centre, their teaching philosophy emphasizes process over perfection, encouraging dancers to experiment across disciplines, from theatre and sound to environmental art and social inquiry. In doing so, MeshGround reimagines dance as both deeply personal and profoundly communal.

The Weathering Grounds residency is another initiative that typifies MeshGround’s passion for nurturing the next generation of movement artists in Sri Lanka.The residency invites choreographers, dancers, and performance and movement artists based in Sri Lanka to take part in an immersive creative programme exploring how movement, dance, and performance can embody solutions, resilience, care, and justice in a rapidly changing world.

“Weathering Grounds is a space to explore that through creativity, collaboration, and care – where movement becomes a language for resilience and reimagination” explains Umeshi Rajeendra, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of MeshGround. “We’re inviting artists to respond to one of the most urgent questions of our time – how can our bodies, our art, and our movement become part of the solution?”

Weathering Grounds combines an online lab (January 9–12, 2026) and an in-person intensive in Colombo (January 24–31, 2026). Participants will engage in workshops, collaborative experiments, and choreographic research, guided by international and local facilitators. Speaking about the collaboration which brings together artists from Sri Lanka and the UK, Neelambaree Prasad, Founder of ClimArts details how participants will “Work together on stories of post-conflict and climate change. Through the residency, participants will be upskilled to harness the potency of art as a powerful medium of communicating climate solutions.”

The residency is supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture (CTC) Programme which supports artistic collaboration between the UK and countries in the Asia-Pacific and Europe. The grants support collaborative projects between artists, creative practitioners and arts organisations, fostering cross-cultural exchange and lasting relationships.  Orlando Edwards, British Council Sri Lanka Country Director, said “I am thrilled that the CTC Grant Programme has attracted such a rich and diverse portfolio of applications – proof of strength of the Sri Lankan cultural scene. I look forward to the fruition of this UK/Sri Lanka arts collaboration which hopes to create socially conscientious and inspiring art.”    

Sadé Alleyne, Co-Founder of Alleyne Dance in the UK, underlines her company’s deep commitment to nurturing and empowering artists: “Weathering Grounds aligns beautifully with our values, placing creativity, care, and community at the heart of practice. We are honoured to be part of this important residency in Sri Lanka, and to share in an exchange that celebrates resilience, embodied storytelling, and collective strength.”

The Weathering Grounds Residency is completely free of charge, and welcomes artists at all stages of their careers and across diverse disciplines, techniques, and movement forms. It especially encourages applications from artists belonging to historically marginalised or structurally excluded communities, as well as those whose work engages with climate justice, social justice, or post-conflict themes. Artists based outside Colombo will be provided with accommodation during the in-person residency.

Applications are open until 30^th November and can be found at www.meshground.org Interested artists can also email info@meshground.org or contact on 0777268518 for more details.

MeshGround is a dance company and creative platform dedicated to exploring movement as a form of critical inquiry, collaboration, and social engagement. Emerging from a pilot initiative (2015–2021) and formally established in 2022, MeshGround has become an integral part of Sri Lanka’s performance and movement landscape — a space where artistic practice meets dialogue, care, and critical thinking in dance. www.meshground.org

Alleyne Dance (AD) is a UK-based company known for its distinct blend of athleticism, grace, and emotional expression. Founded by twin sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne, AD’s work focuses on themes of human strength and vulnerability, promoting collaboration and creative exchange across borders. www.alleynedance.com

ClimArts (UK/India) is an interdisciplinary platform exploring the intersections of climate change, art, and performance. Through collaborative research and creative experimentation, ClimArts builds transnational conversations on sustainability and resilience in the arts.
www.climarts.org

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. www.britishcouncil.org