Dance On: The Promise of a Garden
Thu 30 September 2021Part of: Dance On

Earlier this quarter, dancers from Yorkshire Dance’s Dance On programme were invited to be part of The Promise of a Garden, a theatre/dance production by the Performance Ensemble. They worked with choreographer Tamara McLorg and Villmore James, with original music by Christopher Benstead.
Nature has been our faithful companion in lockdown. In parks, pastures, allotments, window boxes and gardens, it has helped us through the tough times. Now, something is growing in the heart of the city as we transform the Quarry Theatre into our version of ’a garden of earthly delights’ where a company of older artists will shared their personal stories, as they created a garden out of nothing before your eyes, including 5000 hand made flowers contributed from communities across Leeds.
‘The Promise of a Garden‘ was a partnership between Leeds Playhouse, The Performance Ensemble, Leeds Older People’s Forum and Leeds 2023 and part of our collaboration toward a major piece of work for Leeds 2023 – ‘Year of Culture’ involving 1000 older people on 16 double decker buses traveling to 5 sites across Leeds.
“Thank you and everyone at Yorkshire Dance for the opportunity and encouragement to dance in a theatrical production at Leeds Playhouse. The themes portrayed were authentic and unique and it was an honour to be involved with so many talented people both amateur and professional.
Yorkshire Dance has consistently provided classes over the years for all members of the community and as I’ve aged, I’ve discovered that older people are not ignored or left out but welcomed to still continue the joy of dancing. Dancing is something that I’ve always loved doing and I’m never going to grow out of it!”
– Dance On participant
Images: Yorkshire Dance