Aiming High

The Aiming High in Staffordshire Short Breaks Programme provides and commissions short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families.

Short breaks provide fun and leisure activities for disabled children and young people, outside of the school day. Short breaks enable disabled children and young people to try new things, gain new experiences and have more opportunities both with and away from their families.

Short breaks enable parents and carers to have a break from their caring role, which may allow them to have a rest, catch up on day to day activities, spend time with other family members or take up other interests.

Heritage and Arts on behalf of the Dance Development Group for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (DDG) has been successful in receiving funding to deliver a disability dance project, which links the Aiming High programme to Get Dancing a ‘Dancing for the Games’ project for Staffordshire.

Workshops

Beginning in 2012 and taking place in 5 specified locations in Staffordshire, including Tamworth, South Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle-Under-Lyme and Stafford, a specialist dance artist will devise and deliver a series of activities and workshops in each of the identified district and boroughs which enables disabled participants to be involved in a fully inclusive opportunity.

Working in partnership with the G8way team for Staffordshire, the activities will be tailored to the needs of each of the groups that are identified for the project. It is hoped that participants who enjoy the project will be able to continue their interest in dance by joining one of the ‘Dancing for the Games’ district or borough dance projects.

Details of our Summer Workshops are now online - click on the Events heading to the right.

For more information on Aiming High and other activities for disabled children in Staffordshire please go to: www.staffordshire.gov.uk/disabledchildren

Event Listings

Breathing space will work towards providing as many opportunities as possible for disabled children and young people to take part in some of the spectacular events planned for London 2012.

Meet the Artist Team

Meet the Specialist Disability Dance Artist leading on this initiative...

Isabel Jones - Artistic Director -

Isabel Jones is a director, arts collaborator, choreographer, dancer, composer and singer whose professional arts career spans more than twenty five years..

In 1989 Isabel founded and has been the Artistic Director of Salamanda Tandem, a very active arts charity which has been funded by Arts Council England since 1994.

In this role Isabel brings together artists, sensory experts, musicians, dancers, sculptors, poets, film makers, writers, and digital artists, together with a wide spectrum of people with and without disabilities to research, redefine and establish creative dialogue between people and art forms. Isabel has directed, composed and choreographed 18 major commissioned works with Salamanda Tandem. 

Links: www.salamanda-tandem.org

 

Project Partners

Heritage and Arts will work closely with the G8way team to plan and devise a suitable programme of workshops and events that will fulfill the aims of the Aiming High programme.