New Art Club was formed in 2001 by Tom Roden and Pete Shenton and is fuelled by their shared spirit of adventure.

Tom and Pete have been described as ‘the Morecambe and Wise of dance’, ‘the Reeves and Mortimer of contemporary choreography, ‘the Gilbert & George of dance’ and, perhaps most accurately, as ‘a double act who marry stand up comedy with choreographic minimalism and a touch of philosophy’ (The Times). Through its varied activities – creating new work, tours, education and community projects.

New Art Club aims to ensure that all its audiences and participants – be they bright eyed or cynical – are entertained by dance.

The Visible Men is a development of 2004's The Short Still Show, a finalist in the prestigious Place Prize. It was commissioned by Dance Umbrella and is supported by the Arts Council England through Grants for the Arts

“Non-stop comedy pyrotechnics and cutting-edge dancing…quirky, funny and fast-paced”
Giannandrea Poesio in The Spectator on The Visible Men.

"Unique... a double act who marry stand-up comedy with choreographic minimalism and a touch of philosophy.”
Debra Craine in The Times on New Art Club

“Back-achingly, stomach-creasingly funny & brilliantly constructed comedy.”
Ellie Carr in The Sunday Herald on New Art Club

New Art Club is Tom Roden and Pete Shenton. They started working together in 1995, formed the company in 2001 and have since produced a wealth of characteristically clever and funny dance shows.

They have toured nationally and internationally and won many awards. Their The Short Still Show reached the final of The Place Prize for choreography in 2004.

New Art Club’s breakthrough show was the hilarious spoof on contemporary dance, This Is Modern, which went down a storm with audiences and critics and has been touring solidly since its creation in 2003. Their follow up show, The Electric Tales, is also continuing to tour three years after its debut Christmas Show, The Notcracker, premiered in 2006 and is touring again in 2007/08.

New Art Club’s shows include: This Is Modern (2001); The Electric Tales (2003); Long Range Effort (2004); The Short Still Show (2004); Dance, Jokes and Dance Jokes (2005); The Notcracker (2005) and The Visible Men (2007).

Before setting up New Art Club with Pete, Tom was choreographer and artistic director of the all-male Air Dance Company which toured extensively throughout the UK. His opera and theatre credits include The Magic Flute for Opera North and Babette's Feast at The Royal Opera House (directed by Tim Supple), Edward II at Bolton Octagon (director Lawrence Till) and Elixir Of Love for Grange Park Opera (director Martin Constantine).

Pre-New Art Club, Pete created numerous pieces for his company, livebait. He was commissioned by dance 4 to create a version of Thomas Lehmann’s Schreibstuck, appeared on TV in Tim Supple’s film Twelfth Night, performed and movement directed for theatre company Metro Boulot Dodo and made a solo called the impolite. He created a performance installation for Sensitive Skin.

But mostly, nowadays, Tom and Pete are New Art Club.