Only 150 years ago and less, the rural economy was interwoven; most people in rural areas worked on, or were in some way connected with agriculture and the land. Farmers, farm workers, hedgers and ditchers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, wagonners, dairymen, housekeepers and maids and those who looked after the horses and worked in farmhouses, all came into regular contact around the agricultural economy.

Village communities came together in a variety of ways in order to work, socialise and play. They pooled resources at harvest time to bring in the hay, pick apples and other fruit; gangs of village women would work the fields for the local farmer at various times of the other. It was not a perfect society - there was poverty and hardship, inequality and ill health but people pulled together for the good of the whole.

Following the industrial revolution communities changed. Nowadays, communities are not agrarian - lots of different people live in villages with different jobs and backgrounds, needs and desires, many commuting to towns and cities, returning each evening; some only returning at weekends. Village communities are much less cohesive. year or glean together after the harvest. Farmers would work on each other's farms to assist with heavy tasks.

The local blacksmith and other trades - builders, carpenters, stonemasons - would call upon other village people - some with similar skills - to help in times of need. The community worked as one because it needed to in order to survive and thrive. Dwellings were often built together and maintained for the good of the community.

At harvest suppers, spring celebrations, summer fetes and Yule Tide fairs, the whole community would celebrate, make music, sing and dance, prepare and share food and eat together; the church - of one denomination or other - was at the centre of the community and the church year would be in harmony with the agricultural calendar. This is how agrarian societies worked.

The society was hierarchical but nevertheless everyone was known to each other and often socialised at certain times of the year, from the squire, the vicar, the schoolmaster and mistress, labourers and craftsmen, children, elderly, the sick and the needy. The system worked to ensure continuity and was, in the main, strong and inclusive. People knew each other. It was not a perfect society - there was poverty and hardship, inequality and ill health but people pulled together for the good of the whole.

Following the industrial revolution communities changed. Nowadays, communities are not agrarian - lots of different people live in villages with different jobs and backgrounds, needs and desires, many commuting to towns and cities, returning each evening; some only returning at weekends. Village communities are much less cohesive.

The village shop, the post office, the school, the pub and the garage are all traditional places of communication, and social activity, but are getting fewer by the day thus reducing the places where people are able to meet and talk.

But the village hall, built, owned and managed by the community, is a neutral, democratic space designed and created for a range of community uses; many were built during the early to mid part of the 20th century, others after the end of the First World War to celebrate victory. The halls are as vital and vibrant as ever and continue to be built and renovated.

It's arguably the case that, under the auspices of Centre Stage, it's one of the few times nowadays when village people, across all social incomes and backgrounds, come together to socialise, share resources, make and eat food, enjoy the live arts, have fun and work together in a joint venture for the good of the whole as they would have done for hundreds of years.

Centre Stage live arts events are at the centre of this activity and energy where many people congregate - friends, families, neighbours, people of all ages and interests - in a physical, social, emotional way; these are all essential ingredients for the continuing communal life the village or community - with the arts at the heart. Centre Stage encourages other community activities where perhaps none existed, or adds something different to the village calendar.

And it is for these interconnected reasons that the Centre Stage scheme has develope flourished in the past 6 years, has sourced and harnessed a wide variety of people to be promoters in their communities - many middle aged and older people, some retired but certainly not all - who are prepared to give their considerable time, energy and imag to hosting and rooting Centre Stage professional work in their communities, as well as attracting people from around the County to their halls, or community venue.

It's difficult to put a price on this activity in real terms but we do know there are benefits economically and socially: promoters tell us so. The scheme supports an essential community "movement" which has been going on, in one way or another, for hundreds of years and is a necessary part of human endeavour and behaviour; a need to support another - across generations - spending time together, having fun and jointly working to make something special happen in the community.

It is also supporting professional artists - regionally, nationally, internationally, whose skills and commitment the rural touring schemes could not exist or operate in the way they do. This is what the arts can do. This is what Centre Stage is doing.

Sue Roberts, Artservice