On the 26 October, Yorkshire Dance brought together 145 delegates, speakers, artists and young people to explore and debate young people’s voice in dance choreography and performance.

The Dance Creates Conference was held at the beautiful Square Chapel Arts Centre in Halifax and featured a range of presentations, performances, films and discussions.

Contributors included Michael Keegan-Dolan, Charlotte Vincent, Dirk De Lathauwer from Belgium-based Fabuleus, Claire Somerville from One Dance UK, Tess Chaytor from TIN Arts, young writers from The Writing Squad and independent artists Katie Green, Molly Walker, Zoe Demoustier, Grace Surman, Josh Hawkins, Lizzie Klotz and Alex Ayre.

The conference opened with a dynamic performance from Leeds City College and later featured an inspirational performance from young people from Hull and East Riding that was created in partnership with the National Youth Dance Company.

“The introductions and performances were a highlight, it is great to see young people perform and to talk about their wants and needs.”

In the final session of the day, Grace Surman shared an intimate duet between father and son, featuring Gary Winters and Merrick Surman. This was followed by three young writers from The Writing Squad, Ruby Lawrence, Sarah Gonnet and Lenni Saunders who responded to the day beautifully through spoken word, poetry and performance.

The conference provided a space for debate and challenge with the view to sparking new ideas and responses and encouraging people to be curious about the creative possibilities of making work with young people. For many it reinvigorated a passion for youth dance and a desire to explore new ideas.

“Good to network and be reminded of importance and value of supporting youth dance in the region.”

“Invaluable. Feelings of shared inspiration and passion.”