Around the region: South Yorkshire Hub
Tue 13 March 2018
Every three months we’ll be celebrating the work of one of our regional hubs, having a look at the wealth of dance activity going on in each area. We’ll start with the marvellous South Yorkshire Hub, and this round-up from Hub Chair and independent artist Nisha Lall.
Regional: South Yorkshire Youth Dance Company
South Yorkshire Dance Hub, with the support of Yorkshire Dance, restructured in 2016 and submitted a successful bid to the Arts Council to develop a South Yorkshire Youth Dance Company.
With two choreographic residencies and one performance platform under their belt, the South Yorkshire Youth Dance Company (SYYDC) are looking forward to an exciting year ahead.
Professional artist Alesandra Seutin, who worked with the company on the second residency, commented on how polite, creative and hard working the group were. Lead artist, Kiera Martin, stated ‘The company are doing so well. I love these young people and they work really hard.’
SYYDC were successful in getting through to FRESH with their performance of Aluminium choreographed by Gary Clarke. They will be performing on the main stage at York Theatre Royal on Saturday 24 March 2018.
Sheffield: Chance To Dance Festival back for the 18th year
Still dancing in the streets!
The Chance To Dance Festival is returning to Sheffield on Saturday 16 June. The free, one-day event involves around 30 different dance groups on open ‘stages’ across the city centre.
Dance groups reflect the wide diversity of cultures and types of dance in the city. Part of the ethos of the festival is to encourage people to join in and have a go. Chance to Dance has so far enabled up to 50,000 people to take part in different forms of dance – from Salsa to Bhangra, from Ballroom to Modern Jive.
Doncaster: Get Donny Dancing!
As part of its Dance in Health & Wellbeing partnership with People Dancing, One Dance UK has been successful in receiving Sport England Active Ageing funding for a dance programme to tackle inactivity among older adults in three areas of Yorkshire. A partnership with Yorkshire Dance will establish dance sessions across Leeds and Bradford and DARTS (Doncaster Community Arts) will lead in Doncaster over the next three years.
The funding will support the development, implementation and evaluation of a Dance Activator programme, delivering a varied dance offer to engage inactive older people in disadvantaged areas to improve their activity levels and wider health and wellbeing.
For more information about the Doncaster programme, contact Lucy Roberthsaw: lucy@thepoint.org.uk
Sheffield: Hype Dance exploring Dance & Dementia
Hype Dance Company’s current project Mode:Default explores current research into dementia. Hype will be working with local groups throughout the process towards a final showcase at SITraN (Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience in Sheffield) on Friday 13 July, supported by a local community cast.
The project will deliver outreach work to around 70 people living with Dementia across Sheffield, employing local professional dancers. An invited audience will watch the final showcase. Visit: www.hypedance.org.uk for more details.
“It’s been incredibly interesting to spend time researching into Alzheimer’s both for myself and the dancers. There really was so much material we were inspired by – this has only just scratched the surface! Dance is a great way to physicalise what happens with Alzheimer’s. It’s a very rewarding and enjoyable collaboration.” Anna Olejnicki, Hype’s Artistic Director
Barnsley: Ambassadors for boys’ dance
StreetKingz is a boys-only urban dance company based at Horizon Community College in Barnsley.
The group began with small numbers when the school opened six years ago. Following support from the South Yorkshire Dance Hub, StreetKingz began to work with a new coach, Jake Fields. Numbers grew over a short space of time to more than twenty boys attending regularly. The team were ecstatic when they were selected for FRESH 2017. This further boosted their ambitions and the group continued to develop, working with established choreographers and trainers such Pierre Lafayette-Marsh and Jonny Boyle.
They continue to be great ambassadors for boys’ dance both within the school and the wider community. The group now boasts over 25 members. They have several projects lined up this year, including a collaboration with Explosive Dance Company and attending We Are Legend Dance Championships.
Rotherham: New performing arts venue
Rotherham Underground is a new performing arts hub: a flexible performance space in the town centre, and home to a professional theatre company touring work across the borough and beyond. This initiative has grown out of the ambitions of Open Minds Theatre Company.
Throughout 2018, the venue will be piloting a programme of theatre, film, music and comedy. The venue can also be hired privately for entertainment, hospitality or training events – with catering and a licensed bar.
Sheffield: Be Free Lunch
Be part of the movement!
Nisha Lall has recently been commissioned to deliver a project, providing dancing at lunchtimes with a focus on Sheffield city centre office-based workforces and organisations.
The project will bring together 10 local dance practitioners to deliver lunchtime dance and movement sessions to Sheffield organisations this July. These sessions will culminate in a flash mob and larger-scale dance to coincide with the Well Being Festival on 18th July 2018 in Sheffield.
The project is funded by Rainbow Heron Small Grants Fund. The trust provides one-off grants to individuals or small groups around the UK to develop specific creative / arts-based activities – with the aim of exploring the connection between mental health and creativity as well as promoting wider awareness about young people’s mental health.
Sheffield: We Danced
We Danced, funded by Provident Financial – Good Neighbour Fund, is an intergenerational project that celebrates the connections we make through dance, bringing together older adults in care home settings with local primary schools in the Parson Cross area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Sheffield: Dance to Health
Arts charity and social enterprise, Aesop, is working with Yorkshire Dance to devliver this falls-prevention programme.
This programme demonstrates a significant investment in employment and skills for artists and connection with older adults.
Aesop has engaged Yorkshire Dance to work with Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Groups to deliver activity in the city for older adults in danger of falling.
Theatre listings
A wonderful array of dance programming happening in South Yorkshire. Take a peek at the following venues: