7 years ago the Yorkshire Schools Dance Festival was a fledgling idea: to create a region wide non-competitive event that celebrated, supported and developed dance in schools.
A key partner from the very beginning was the York & North Yorkshire Dance Hub. The Hub has provided financial support and allowed us to recruit world-class dance artists & choreographers to work with coordinating teachers to refine practice and introduce and creatively explore our annual themes. We've also been able to develop a page on the website for coordinators with a growing number of links and resources.
In September, Jon Beney will be delivering an exciting practical session with artists/teachers from participating schools and groups. Watch this amazing film, 'Why I Move' about Jon's journey into dance. Inspirational!
Funded by Arts Council England via Yorkshire Dance, the Hub is one of 5 across the region: East, Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Bank and York & North Yorkshire
Steve Purcell, Acting Chair of the York & North Yorkshire Dance Hub, said, "The Yorkshire Schools Dance Festival is an extraordinary event supporting young people and their teachers and youth leaders to explore the many positive benefits of dance making and performing. There are amazing and fruitful careers to had in the professional performing arts arena and I am very pleased that the York and North Yorkshire Dance Hub can help support in a small way the very big ambitions of Colin Jackson and his extended team to ensure that there are opportunities for young people to experience dance through the Festival.
Thinking creatively is what is going to get Britain through a lot of the challenges over the next 10-20 years and that's exactly what the arts do, they free up the mind'. I'm with Jeremy Deller on this one and so is the Yorkshire Schools Dance Festival."