Get Dancing

With over 30 Get Dancing groups across the county now dancing and performing, the Get Dancing Festival from 2pm - 8pm on Sunday 1 July 2012 was a chance to see a selection of these as well as professional dancers, open workshops & dance films all for free at Stafford Castle.

Get Dancing: A Festival of Dance

Stafford Castle

Get dancing was the first ever county wide dance programme which provided hundreds of people in Staffordshire with the fantastic opportunity to take part in a London 2012 inspired dance project or event.

As a celebration of this programme Get Dancing: A Festival of Dance took place at Stafford Castle from 2pm to 8pm on Sunday 1 July 2012.

 

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What was there?

We had a huge line-up of activities and performances for you to enjoy; here's just a few of them:

  • the Breathe the Beat roadshow - a professional street dance extravaganza with music by DJ Moyma
  • performances and workshops by international contemporary dance company, Retina Dance
  • a wide variety of dance films being shown throughout the day
  • performances on and off stage - did you manage to see them all?

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To celebrate the work and skills that have been nurtured across Staffordshire as part of Get Dancing there were several performances by community dance groups alongside inspiring work by local professional dance artists.

If all this sounds a little energetic for you, you were welcome to come and just enjoy the atmosphere of celebration.  Have a picnic in the grounds, grab a drink at the bar, or sit and watch any of the various performances, workshops, films & music available throughout the day.

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Could I just have turned up?

Yes!  The event was free, you didn't even need a ticket, you just turned up on the day and enjoyed yourselves.  People brought the whole family and had a lovely summer's Sunday out surrounded by trees, flowers, dance and friendly people.

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Get Dancing on Vimeo

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Get Dancing

Get Dancing is part of Dancing for the Games which is inspired by London 2012 and part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands.

Get dancing is the first ever county wide dance programme which will provide thousands of people in Staffordshire with the fantastic opportunity to take part in a London 2012 inspired dance project or event.

The Get Dancing project includes lots ways for you to get involved! You can come along to one of the open workshops led by Retina Dance Company, request a targeted workshop by one of the professional artists in your venue or join in one of the district or borough dance projects.

You can always be involved by coming along as an audience member to one of our engaging performance events in 2012.

If you want to be involved, contact us now

Dancing for the Games

Dancing for the Games and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad:

Dancing for the Games is part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands and is inspired by London 2012. It is a three year programme funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Arts Council England West Midlands and Advantage West Midlands. Dancing for the Games uses the inspiration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to get as many people as possible dancing across the West Midlands.

The Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands is already touching the lives of thousands of people. To date some 425,400 people in the West Midlands have been involved in the Cultural Olympiad as audiences or participants, either as part of Open Weekend, the Inspire Programme, or through specific regional programmes. For more information about the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands, please visit, www.wmfor2012.com/culture Legacy Trust UK is a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival, and is in a unique position to help communities across the UK gain lasting and life-changing benefits from the 2012 Games.

The Trust has allocated £40 million of funding to 12 programmes in each nation and region of the UK and four national programmes. This funding will act as a catalyst to link grassroots activities across into the Olympic programme, so that people from all walks of life – not just athletes and sports fans – can be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. For more information on Legacy UK please visit www.legacytrust.org.uk.

Between now and the London Olympic and Paralymic Games in summer 2012, Dancing for the Games is providing plenty of dance events in our region.

Find out what’s on at www.dancingforthegames.co.uk



Workshops

Participation will be the main focus of the Get Dancing project and the the programme will provide a number of engaging opportunities for this through:

Open workshops – Led by Filip Van Huffel, Artistic Director of internationally acclaimed Retina Dance Company, these open workshops will be taking place in local theatre and leisure venues across Staffordshire. They will give you the chance to dance with the company in a fun and friendly environment.

Target Workshops – Led by professional dance artists recruited especially for the Get Dancing project you can take part in workshops in your school, college, village hall or any other community setting local to you!

District or Borough Project Groups – Following the open and target workshops you will be given the chance to sign up to be part of the district and borough projects. You and your group will work with a professional artist to learn choreography, which will lead to a performance and the chance to take part in a spectacular county showcase in July 2012. If you want to be involved, please contact us

Professional Development

Get Dancing has professional development opportunities woven into the programme and aims to provide both dance artists and participants with the chance to learn and develop new skills as well as provide a lasting legacy for dance provision beyond 2012.

Artistic Mentorship Programme Professional development and artistic mentorship days have been woven into the Get Dancing project and will be led by Filip Van Huffel, Artistic Director of the internationally acclaimed Retina Dance Company. These will provide the professional dance artists, especially recruited for the project, with artistic and professional skills development and networking opportunities.

Young Leadership Programme A young dance leadership programme will be led by professional dance artists as part of the district and borough partnership projects and will provide opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills and accreditation through training and development. Dance artists will take young people through an Arts Award. This will provide a legacy within each district and borough of the sub-region by providing an increased number of young dance leaders the opportunity to become part of a developing county-wide dance network.

Volunteering Opportunities Get dancing will aim to provide volunteer opportunities throughout the project. These will range from shadowing dance artist roles to helping out at one of our performance events planned for the London 2012 celebrations. We will work closely with educational organisation’s and the voluntary sector to make sure that we can provide as many positive experiences as possible for young people to be involved and gain valuable work experience placements.

Event Listings

Meet the Artist Team

Meet the artists that are bringing you this initiative...

Retina Dance Company is working with Dance Connected

Retina Dance Company - Artistic Director

Retina is an ambitious contemporary dance company artistically led by Filip Van Huffel.


Producing dance performances of differing scales; from theatre performances to large-scale site-specific events, multi-media projects and a wide range of accessibility and educational projects.

Working from both Belgium and the UK, Filip Van Huffel has established a particular working methodology that emphasises his investigation of pure movement that affects the viewer theatrically through a physically vibrant movement quality that is uniquely Retina.

Links: www.retinadance.com
Micheal Joseph is working with Dance Connected

Micheal Joseph - Dance artist

Michael Joseph is an Independent Dance Artist specialising in choreography, teaching, film-making and performing.


He trained at Rambert School of Ballet and
Contemporary Dance after which he worked at English National Opera in numerous operas.

He joined Union Dance Company and contributed to the development
of the company for over 23 years. In that time he has accumulated extensive knowledge in the dance sector ranging from performance, choreography, education
work, dance films and artistic direction. At present he is tutoring at various schools in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and is a visiting lecturer at the University of 
Bedfordshire.

Below are links to some of Micheal’s work on You Tube:


Ramblings of an Old Man | Inversion Series I - IV

Julia Griffin is working with Dance Connected

Julia Griffin - dance artist

Julia Griffin is a professional freelance dance artist operating in the UK and Europe.


With extensive knowledge and experience in teaching, performing and choreographing and performing contemporary dance and dance video/film works. Julia has worked with national and international dance companies and collaborated with leading dance professionals along with established artists from diverse disciplines.

She has established an excellent reputation with a broad range of participants from primary, secondary, young people through to adults and the elderly as well as major Higher Education and Vocational Institutions. She is the Artistic Director of Move Dance Company and CCDM the longest running contemporary dance class in Manchester.

Visit Julia’s Website for a comprehensive archive of her works: www.juliagriffin.co.uk
Kath Kimber McTiffen is working with Dance Connected

Kath Kimber McTiffen - dance artist

Kath Kimber-McTiffen is a freelance Dance Artist who has worked as a performer and choreographer for many years.


Graduating in 1997 with a first class BA honours degree in dance Kath has extensive experience of working with dance in education as well as leading numerous choreographic projects in schools.

She also provides dance inset training for teachers across Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Kath is a regular guest lecturer at Coventry University and until recently was part time Dance Development Manager for Northants Dance.

As a performer she has also worked with numerous dance companies including: Beingfrank Physical Theatre, Kipper Foot Dance Company, Liquid Dance and Wherewithal Dance Company. She is currently working with Wriggle Dance Theatre who specialise in creating performances for the Early Years.

Amy Thomson is working with Dance Connected

Amy Thomson - Dance Artist

Amy Thomson is a freelance dance artist, teaching, choreographing and performing across the North and the Midlands.


She has worked with many different artists and companies, including Frontline Dance, re:stoke, Wardrobe Dance Theatre, Salamanda Tandem, Hull Truck Theatre Company, Jordi Cortes Molina, Felix Ruchert, Beth Cassani, Jerry Turvey and Lucy Suggate.

The time Amy has spent with Frontline Dance Company, an integrated dance company, has led her to work creatively with people of various abilities. Her involvement with other dance artists has influenced her passion for choreography.

Links: www.staffordshiredancecollective.co.uk
Clare-Marie Palethorpe is working with Dance Connected

Clare-Marie Palethorpe - Dance artist

Clare has performed professionally within the industry for many years, as a dancer, singer, dance captain and choreographer.


Working across the West Midlands, the UK and Europe Clare has extensive teaching experience and specialise’s in leading workshops and regular classes in schools, colleges, arts establishments and prestigious performing arts companies. Clare’s main passions lie within choreography. She has been involved in many professional productions, along with new exciting initiatives, such as working on a dance and film research and development programme. Clare now continues to work intensely within the youth dance sector, working closely with Youth Dance England on a number of their main projects that they run nationally, helping feed youngsters and youth companies through to these nationally run projects.

Angharad Harrop is working with Dance Connected

Angharad Harrop - Featured Artsist

Angharad is an Independent Dance Artist currently working within the North West and Wales.


Her choreographic interests lie in improvisation and the exploration of presence and absence within performance. She has continued her community work in North Wales through companies such as Dawns i Bawb and New Dance, she has also established the capoeira group for North East Wales Senzala Cymru through Senzala UK. In the 2011/12 year Angharad will lecture at Edge Hill University on dance technique, community practice and cultural dance modules, she has also been working on her own artistic endeavors, performing in works for choreographers and being commissioned to create work for professional artists in North Wales.

Links: www.angharadharrop.com
Kayla Howell is working with Dance Connected

Kayla Howell - Dance artist

Kayla Howell is a professional dance artist who specialises in working with a fusion of different dance styles including ballet, contemporary, hip hop and street.


She trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and
Contemporary Dance and has worked as a performer in a large number of TV, film and live performance events.

With several years experience of teaching dance to a wide range of youth groups, Kayla has developed a unique style that gives her work a fresh and eclectic approach. She currently works as the dance development worker for East Staffordshire Borough Council where she manages and oversees the dance development programme.

Links: www.esdc.org.uk | Seeing Sounds Dance on You Tube | Seeing Sounds Dance on Facebook
Electric Egg is working with Dance Connected

Electric Egg - Film Artists

An Innovative Video, Animation & Photography Production Company.


A multi-skilled production company set up by directors Neil Baker & Steven Hatton in 2005, Electric Egg has a strong passion for the arts and have worked on a variety of visual and performing arts projects in both still and moving image.

Alongside their arts and commercial work Electric Egg produce their own self initiated works with two short films, Heilig & What Does Otto See ? premiering on the festival circuit in 2011 and their first self produced feature documentary, Into The Wind being acquired for UK TV broadcast in the same year.

Links: www.electricegg.co.uk | www.vimeo.com/electricegg
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Programme Partners

Get Dancing is a county-wide partnership project delivered by the Dance Development Group for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. Working with local authorities, agencies, organisations and venues the project will build on and develop new and existing relationships and networks. The project will connect with county networks, community dance initiatives, dance groups and dance artists.

Local Dance Partnerships The project will work towards developing local dance partnerships to deliver and lead on the district and borough partnership projects.

Their role will be to work with the Dance Development Group and the Dance Development Officer to fulfil the aims and outcomes of the project and lead on co-ordination, providing profile and advocacy within their own localities as well as across Staffordshire.

Find Out More: