GROWING up in Orkney, Tony Mills says he never felt “othered” at all.

Only when he moved to Edinburgh to study veterinary science did he realise people noticed the colour of his skin. This is one of the reasons he is keen to make dance in Scotland more diverse and inclusive.

Making dance matter to society and building support for the artform in this country is also his aim now that he has been appointed as the new artistic director of Dance Base, Scotland’s National Centre for Dance.

Despite gaining his degree, Mills decided to follow his passion for dance and, after working as a professional dancer in Scotland for almost 20 years, he is keen to share his skills and experience.

His career has not been quite what his parents initially envisaged for him but he was driven to perform from an early age, improvising in a school production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat when he was just eight years old.

“One teacher told me not to do it but another said I should and if it had not been for that I might not have started down this path of performing,” Mills told the Sunday National.

His love of dance continued to grow at high school in Kirkwall and when he went to Edinburgh he joined all the university societies, including one for modern dance where he was introduced to breakdancing.

“That really clicked with me. I found out there were classes at Dance Base so I would go along every Saturday and it was almost like I was living for the weekend where I could practise all the things I had been trying through the week. What I liked about it was the immediacy in being creative. You have the music, your body and the floor and off you go.

“Dance gives you agency over yourself and your body and helps you carve out a kind of identity. Through it you find out about yourself, your taste, your creative process, your style and how you interact with the world and the community. It was a really formative time for me.”

It got to the point where he almost threw in the towel at university but, rather than give up completely, he took a year out to travel and dance.

That didn’t go down particularly well with his father and mother, a GP and nurse respectively, who originally wanted Mills to pursue an academic career like his dentist brother and lawyer sister.

He did return to Edinburgh to finish his degree but afterwards was immediately offered a job with a dance company specialising in hip hop and contemporary dance.

He worked there for three years, took time out for more training, then started his own company, Room 2 Manoeuvre.

He believes that being one of the few males in dance in Scotland at that time opened a few doors, despite occasional “incidents” in wider society relating to his skin colour.

“Growing up on a rural island being mixed race, I never really felt I was othered at all,” said Mills. “My father was a black man from Ghana but if anyone had any issues that soon passed as he was the only person you could go to for medical treatment. And I do think Orcadians are very friendly, always kind.

“I did feel part of the community, 100%, and it was not really until I came to Edinburgh that I realised people noticed the colour of my skin. There were a few incidents.”

There have also been times as a breakin’ and hip hop practitioner that has made him feel they are less valued than other forms of contemporary dance, so he is keen to promote diversity of dance as well as diversity of people.

“I am keen to support more hip hop dance artists but I am also here to serve the whole sector,” he said. “I do think there is a gap, an area of dance that is under-represented, but my role is to support dance in all its shapes and forms.”

Generally Mills wants to make sure there are more opportunities for dancers following the pandemic, which has hit the sector hard.

“Dance in Scotland needs confidence, especially after the past two years,” he said. “I want to give dancers confidence that Dance Base has their backs and they can feel they can work and live and have a long prosperous career in Scotland and don’t have to go somewhere else to get recognition and opportunities – that you can have a successful dance career in Scotland whether you are a dancer, a teacher or working in the community.”

Mills says making dance matter to the public is another aim.

“I think there was a report that said more people dance than play football in Scotland but football has a platform that dance doesn’t have, yet everybody knows dance and most people have danced.

“However, something happens in that transition into the theatre where the normalisation of it suddenly evaporates. Of all the artforms dance often comes last. I don’t think there is enough emphasis on dance.”

Mills is taking over from Morag Deyes MBE, who has led Dance Base since it was founded almost 30 years ago.

He joins the organisation as it prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the National Centre for Dance facility in Edinburgh.

“The role of artistic director is central to the delivery of Dance Base’s vision to get the whole of Scotland to experience dance and build national and international success for dance artists based here,” said a spokesperson.

“Tony’s personal experience of making a career as an independent dance artist here puts him in a strong position to understand the challenges facing dance artists. His

track record of engaging people across the country with dance will be invaluable in helping engage many more people with dance as a source of health, wellbeing and community.”

The spokesperson added: “As the sector emerges from the enormous challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tony’s role will ensure that Dance Base is supporting the talents and the needs of the diverse range of dance artists who choose to live and work in Scotland, and for making the country a place where dance fulfils its potential across society.”