Young people in rehearsal before an Academy performance. Photo by Pari Naderi

Due to popular demand, Dance United’s Stage 1 Training returns this July to Aberdeen.

When: Monday 8th to Thursday 11th July 2013
Time: 10am to 4.30pm daily
Fee:  £175 (or £200 including the NOCN Level 3 accreditation in Social Inclusion Practice)
Venue: Citymoves Dance Agency, Schoolhill, Aberdeen AB10 1FQ
Booking: Hayley Durward, Dance Development Officer at Citymoves Dance Agency in Aberdeen. *protected email*

“A pleasure to finally get what I was looking for out of training relating to people at risk and the arts … I have so much to take forward into many different areas of my life and work.”  - Course Participant

Dance United’s training course “An Introduction to Dance United’s Methodology and Practice in Social Inclusion” looks at how to deliver high quality contemporary dance when working with challenging groups in the community. The main focus of this training course is the relationship between pro-active dance-based strategies that can be embedded into a dance methodology and responsive non-dance strategies that, together, can successfully resolve challenging behaviour, resistance and non-engagement within participant groups.

The course will begin with a contemporary class to introduce participants to Dance United’s work and repertoire. Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided. You can read more on the course content here.

Helen Linsell with dancers performing Inbetween at the Riley Theatre, Leeds. Photograph by Brian Slater

Dance United Yorkshire is pleased to announce  the return this August of Dance United’s Stage 1 Training Course, offered for one-week only at Yorkshire Dance, Leeds.

When: Monday 5th to Friday 9th August 2013
Time: 10am to 4.30pm daily
Fee:  £250 (or £225 without the NOCN accreditation)
Venue: Yorkshire Dance, 3 St Peter’s Buildings, St Peter’s Square, Leeds LS9 8AH
Booking: Helen Linsell, Dance United Yorkshire’s Artistic Director
*protected email* or 07775 334098

Dance United’s training course “An Introduction to Dance United’s Methodology and Practice in Social Inclusion” looks at how to deliver high quality contemporary dance when working with challenging groups in the community. The main focus of this training course is the relationship between pro-active dance-based strategies that can be embedded into a dance methodology and responsive non-dance strategies that, together, can successfully resolve challenging behaviour, resistance and non-engagement within participant groups.

Firstly, there are the strategies that can be embedded within the dance method itself to work pro-actively to overcome resistance, non-engagement, and potential conflict. We share our dance methodology and unpick how and why it works for us.

But prevention is not always enough. Secondly, every teacher also needs a ‘tool-bag’ of strategies and interventions to deal with provocations and challenges to their authority in the dance space. The more tools they have, the more confident they are, and the more confident they are, the better able to respond rather than react when provoked.

In addition, what makes it possible to find stillness in the heat of the moment? Another part of the facilitation equation is managing our fear of what might happen, understanding what triggers our own vulnerability and volatility and understanding how we are part of the group dynamic.

The key questions revolve around:
• What is the relationship between ‘soft’ group management and ‘hard’ dance skills embedded within dance?
• What can you do when faced with challenge, confrontation and conflict?
• What lies beneath participants’ presenting behaviours?
• How can you decide whether behaviour is mildly, moderately or severely inappropriate and act accordingly?
• What makes challenging behaviour difficult to manage?
• How and why do particular strategies work?

The course will run 10.00am to 4.30pm daily, beginning with a contemporary class to introduce participants to Dance United’s work and repertoire.

The course will be five days but the fifth day is optional. The final day will involve teaching a group of young people who have graduated from a Dance United Yorkshire project. Following this, attendees will receive feedback from both the young people and the course leaders. This will be a valuable and exciting opportunity to put learning into practice.

Dance United’s Stage 1 Training course is accredited by the National Open College Network (NOCN). Those who complete the course may be awarded with a Level 3 Unit in Social Inclusion Practice in Dance (Credit Value: 3) by NOCN if they register beforehand.

Six literary characters accompanied by two violinists emerge to tell their stories and dance in Two Temple Place’s grand hall in a piece inspired by the building’s history and architecture.  Meet: Lady Macbeth, Hester from The Scarlet Letter, Ophelia, Rip Van Winkle’s daughter, Milady from The Three Musketeers and Queen Katherine of Aragon.

If Walls Could Speak is Sarah Dowling’s second production for Dance United.  In 2011, she choreographed Me, Them, Us for Dance United’s Rites Of Passage at the Lillian Baylis Theatre. She has recently finished a 4-year Associate Artist scheme at the Royal Opera House, where she has choreographed/movement directed operas, contemporary choreographies and large-scale education projects. Dowling’s own choreography has been a Place Prize semi-finalist and she has also choreographed a number of dance films which have been screened internationally.  Dowling is also a longstanding performer with the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk.

Dance United’s London Performance Company was formed in January 2011 as a key progression route for its Academy graduates. The company consists of Dance United’s London Academy graduates and college students currently taking their training in dance. The Company gave its début performance in March 2011 at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre and has since performed in high profile venues, including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Lillian Baylis Theatre and The Place. The Company has worked with choreographers such as Lizzie Kew Ross, Robert Guy, Darren Ellis, John Ross, Sarah Dowling and Dam Van Huynh.

4th & 5th April 2013
7pm & 8pm, £10
Box Office 

Dancers
Samirah Anderson
Stevie Haddon-Jones
Samira Jalal
Becca Mangin
Georgie Stephens
Leanne Vincent

Choreographer
Sarah Dowling

Violinists
Ruth Elder
Aelfwyn Shipton

Costume
Bettina John

Photography
Pari Naderi

U.Dance 2013, image by Tony Nandi

U.Dance 2013, Youth Dance England’s national youth dance festival will take place in Leeds from 18 to 21 July.

Our Performance Companies in Yorkshire and London are currently rehearsing new pieces which will be presented at regional U.Dance showcases, in the hope of being selected for U.Dance 2013.

On Saturday 23 March, 11 dancers from Dance United Yorkshire’s Performance Company will present a new piece by Robert Guy, I’ll Be The Judge Of That, at Fresh 2013 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.  The piece explores how a task is seen through to completion, who is in charge of it and whether all are aiming for the same outcome.

On Sunday 14 April, 10 dancers from the London Performance Company will present a new piece by Lee Smikle, Silver, at U.Dance London 2013. This new work explores the beauty and strength of the human spirit and asks: what does it take to stand up and keep walking when you’ve been let down by someone or when you’re facing personal adversity?

The Wessex Dance Academy celebrates its young people’s graduation this month as well as recognition of its work at two prestigious awards ceremonies.

After twelve weeks of intensive contemporary dance training, the Academy’s young people perform Rewritten Pages on Thursday 21 March, choreographed by Robert Guy and Siobhan Maguire-Swartz, as well as two new pieces: work created with Dance Artist Emma Waller and an extract of Rite of Spring by Hannah De Cancho.  The evening will also feature a performance of Juego by the Wessex Boys.

The Academy’s work is also being recognised this month at two awards ceremonies. On Monday 11 March, HRH The Princess Royal will be presenting the Wessex Dance Academy with a Commendation at the Butler Trust Annual Awards at Buckingham Palace. Two days later, on 13 March, the Wessex Dance Academy will be at the LGC Awards 2013 ceremony in London, where they have been shortlisted in the category of Children’s Services.

Tickets for the Wessex Dance Academy’s graduation on 21 March are complimentary and can be booked via *protected email* or by calling 01962 840440.  A donation of £3 can be made towards each ticket.

For more information on the young people’s performance of Rite of Spring at Winchester’s Great Hall on Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 March, please contact *protected email*

Dance Directors Carly Annable-Coop and Siobhan Maguire-Swartz are currently mentoring two trainees that will go on to placements in homeless charities in Birmingham.

Led by DanceXchange, and funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Strive is a free training course for 12 West Midlands dance artists who want to develop skills and confidence in delivering dance activity for vulnerable groups.

Siobhan and Carly recently led a practical workshop based on Dance United’s teaching and some rep from Inbetween, showing films and exploring the piece’s methodology. The trainees were also invited to visit the London Academy and observe a cohort of young people in progress.

Strive is made up of two phases:

1. a three-day training course running on 12-14 February 2013, focussed on working with specific hard-to-reach target groups (e.g. refugees and asylum seekers, homeless people, excluded women and others at risk of exclusion)
2. mentoring opportunities for artists to work with key practitioners and organisations in the sector from March – July 2013

Strive provides a mix of theoretical and practical learning, offering guidance and structured feedback and enabling participating artists to develop a variety of skills. Participating artists have been introduced to practitioners from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, including the NHS and Derby University, regional and national charities including St Basils and SIFA Fireside, and a variety of experienced practitioners and artists from the region including Dave McKenna (BeingFrank), Geese Theatre Company and Women and Theatre.

On Wednesday 27 February, 11.55pm, Channel 4 will screen Caswell Coggins’ “The Mourners” as part of Random Acts, featuring the BalletBoyz and Dance United’s London Performance Company.

“The Mourners” was filmed last year in Bethnal Green, London, and features original choreography by the BalletBoyz. Dance United’s London Performance Company perform alongside the BalletBoyz in the short film.

Random Acts is a short-form daily arts strand on Channel 4, late nights. It launched in 2011 and in its first year showcased 260 specially-commissioned three-minute films chosen for their bold and creative expressions of creativity. Short films range from spoken word, animation and video art to dance and music. Previous work has been created by Tate Media, Vice, BalletBoyz and FACT.

Caswell Coggins’ previous work includes films for Random Acts featuring the BalletBoyz, short films for A Holding Space, the film DESTINO: A Contemporary Dance Story, and music videos for artists such as Keane, The Feeling, Estelle and Lily Allen.

Photography by Juli Fávero from “The Mourners” film shoot:

The Arts Alliance’s annual meeting on 14th March will explore  how arts organisations can fit into the changing political landscape.

The arts have a long and successful history of delivering innovative rehabilitative interventions. The conference will showcase some of the best practice models from around the country in writing, theatre, visual arts and music. It will also explore research currently been undertaken by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), focusing on arts and intermediate outcomes.

This conference aims to bring together artists, criminal justice sector practitioners and policy makers in England &Wales. This is the Arts Alliance’s first conference in Wales and new members are welcome to take part in what should be a creative and thought provoking day.

What will the conference include?

• Current government policy impacting on creative interventions in prison and the community
• Up to date research on arts and rehabilitation
• Workshops from leading experts on: creative writing for restorative justice, visual arts for rehabilitation and using music to engage young people
• Opening of ‘Secure’, the Koestler exhibition for Wales, curated by young offenders from HMPYOI Parc

Who is this conference for?

• Arts Alliance members
• Prison governors and Heads of learning and skills (HoLS)
• Prison education providers/colleges
• Artist and practitioners working with offenders (voluntary and statutory settings)
• Researchers and academics
• Policy makers
• Managers and staff working in criminal justice settings who want to learn more about the arts and rehabilitation

Book your free place now
14th March 2013

Wales Millennium Centre
Bute Pl
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff CF10 5AL [map]

More information: *protected email*

The Yorkshire Performance Company will perform Shift, choreographed by Leanne Taylor. Dance United Yorkshire’s Artistic Director Helen Linsell is currently directing rehearsals.

Dance Dialogue is the culmination of a cross-cultural dance exchange led by Outta Place, an arts organisation based in Hebden Bridge, with the support of Dance United Yorkshire. Last December, Helen Linsell delivered some introductory contemporary dance sessions with a group of young people from Calderdale – an area Dance United Yorkshire has not previously worked in. This work, combined with the DUY Performance Company’s recent work with Leanne Taylor was shared via a video link with young people  in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday 15th December 2012.

For this evening at Contact Theatre, the dancers from Yorkshire, Dublin and Jamaica will be brought together again through telepresence technology. Expect a mix of contemporary, street and break dance styles from exciting new dance talent!

Tickets
Suitable for over 12s.
£8 FULL // £5 CONC.

First 100 bookings only £4 per ticket.

Contact Theatre
Oxford Road
Manchester M15 6JA,
Box Office

Dance Dialogue Workshop: Kingston, Jamaica from Clare Donegan on Vimeo.

An Outta Place project in collaboration between Dance United Yorkshire, Manifesto Jamaica and The British Council.

In just over a week, the Wessex Dance Academy will present Rewritten Pages at The Lights in Andover.

Rewritten Pages was choreographed by Siobhan Maguire-Swartz and Robert Guy. Complimentary tickets are still available for this performance and can be reserved via *protected email*

Young people who complete the Wessex Dance Academy and show an interest in Contemporary Dance are invited to audition for a place in the Wessex Boys or Wessex Girls Performance Companies.  Last year, the Wessex Boys performed Juego at the London Academy’s Graduation, a piece choreographed by the dancers alongside Dance Director Hannah de Cancho.

Everyone at Dance United wishes the dancers at Wessex Dance Academy the best of luck when they perform Rewritten Pages.