Turn– presented by Word of Warning, Contact and Dance Manchester – is the annual microfestival of new north west dance, celebrating five years at Contact in 2016.

Performed across two evenings, Turn presents a diverse range of new work and work in progress from north west-based dance makers and artists.

I've not attended Turn since 2013 - so can't comment on 2014 and 2015 - but Turn 2016 seemed like a very strong offering. Eighteen performances + three video installations across the two nights and there was some work I loved, a lot I really liked and a scant few I didn't really rate or enjoy, but overall, pretty impressive.

Turn 2016: Night 1 – Contact, Manchester

Turn 2016: Night 2 – Contact, Manchester

Of course the slightly depressing thing - which I allude to in my reviews of the two nights for The Reviews Hub - is that Manchester and the north west is blessed with dancers and dance artists but appears to lack the dance infrastructure to support this vibrant ecology and give these talented and aspirational/inspirational individuals the security and career opportunities they deserve. That north west dance audiences deserve.

I looked back at my review for Turn 2013 and some of the artists showing work in 2016 appeared then. Presumably several of them also presented in '14 and '15.

But with a couple of notable exceptions, I haven't seen most of them anywhere in the interim.

This doesn't mean to say that they aren't making work or performing. Despite my regular complaint that audiences silo themselves - by venue and by genre - I don't visit every venue in the region, even within Greater Manchester. I don't see every piece of dance produced in the north west, and nor would I want to.

The impression I have may be mistaken. But I still believe that it is significant and troubling that:

• Manchester has no new or established major dance company, either classical or contemporary;
• Manchester has no major independent company of any size (i.e. bigger than individuals or pairs  running their own affairs) based in the city with the exception of Company Chameleon;
• Manchester has no dance centre;
• Manchester has no dedicated dance space or theatre - although The Lowry, Contact, Z-Arts, HOME etc. all support/programme dance to varying degrees;
• Manchester has no effective city or regional dance organisation - all due respect to Dance Manchester but they have specific foci that angle them differently to 'similar' organisations like Dance East or  Liverpool's MDI. In the ever-tightening funding environment since 2008 Dance Manchester appear to be doing as much as they possibly can within the funding they have available under their charity status. (The Conservative Government seem bizarrely immune to the wealth of evidence that the arts generate far more income. employment and economic activity than they cost to fund.)
• Manchester has no major dance festival - and Manchester International Festival has until recently proved unjustifiably resistant to commissioning or programming any significant dance content (with the eventual exception of MIF2015's Tree of Codes and now, Akram Khan's new version of Giselle (although this is a co-production with ENB and falls between MIF festivals));