London Youth Dance
London Youth Dance work to support and develop youth dance activity within London working alongside Connect, (the Sadler's Wells Creative Learning team), londondance.com (also a Sadler's Wells project) and in close partnership with Youth Dance England and key regional dance development agencies.
Our work contributes to both government targets of delivering 5 hours of physical activity and 5 hours of cultural activity per week to all young people. Dance is the second most popular physical activity to football and particularly attractive to girls and young women who can be resistant to participating in sport. It is also a powerful art form for young people who find it a potent medium for artistic expression and defining cultural identity.
'Sadler's Wells presents and produces work from dance artists at the top of their creative abilities. We are, however, also interested in where young people start there creative journey, how they first came across dance and how their talents are developed and nurtured. The work of London youth Dance and the Connect team are all related to that aim of providing the opportunities for young people to access high quality dance experiences that may one day lead them to watching, making or performing work here at Sadler's Wells.' Alistair Spalding, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Sadler's Wells
'London Youth Dance's plans for youth dance development across London are key to the Big Dance programme to 2012 and align with the priorities set out in the Mayor's Cultural Strategy.' Jacqueline Rose, Big Dance Director
The London Youth Dance Activity Programme 2009-2011
The opportunity for Sadler's Wells and London Youth Dance to respond to the National Brief has resulted in both a strong and ambitious plan for youth dance development in London. This ambitious but deliverable plan will foster workforce development, a range of new performance platforms, increased work in school settings, investment into marketing and communication tools in order to better reach young people, links to international work, brokerage between dance training institutions and dance in education and investment into existing dance development work.
The Activity Programme will be delivered in three ways:
1. Continuation of the strategic and advisory remit of London Youth Dance:
London Youth Dance maintains links with key stakeholders, dance institutions and organizations and is the figurehead for youth dance within the capital. The role is essentially strategic, linking up activity taking place throughout London with the management of the Youth Zone on londondance.com very much at its heart.
The Youth Zone
Increasing access via a greater awareness of dance opportunities available to young Londoners
The Youth Zone, sitting within Londondance.com, forms the keystone to the London Youth Dance project providing the means to disseminate information through the web pages and regular ebulletins. It provides London Youth Dance, a strategic project and therefore often 'invisible', with a forward facing presence and it offers individuals, organisations and youth groups a free marketing tool. It is also a valuable recruitment tool for London Youth Dance and the Connect team.
Shout It Out
Youth dance has a high profile on londondance.com and Shout It Out is a new regular feature where we report on the range of youth dance projects happening across the capital.
2. Signature Projects:
London Youth Dance will be leading on the delivery of four key projects. A number of these were devised during the Regional Development Plan stage (2006 - 2008) and others are new initiatives in direct response to the National Brief. Delivery enables young people, practitioners and organisations to see us as an outward facing project and is a highly successful way (particularly with performance platforms) of keeping up to date with new youth dance and school groups, nurturing new partnerships, raising the profile of youth dance and increasing contacts.
Jam Free - A dance development initiative for outer London based School Sports Partnerships designed to kick-start dance in SSP's with little existing provision or expertise.
Jam Free also includes the Blueprint Bursary initiative, in partnership with East London Dance.
Performance Programme - Providing an annual calendar of London performance platforms which seek to raise standards of youth dance choreography by use of stimuli and/or exposure to other groups work.
Aspire Dance Mentoring Scheme - Increasing access for young dancers to vocational and prevocational training: Connecting the Further Education and Youth Dance sectors: Raising awareness of CPD opportunities to graduates and professionals.
Youth Dance SpaceXchange - Building upon the SpaceXchange database of spaces suitable for dance, as recommended in the Tony Hall Review, whilst building partnerships with Arts Officers and other organisations and supporting and advocating for youth dance activity in the 32 London boroughs.
3. Commissions to external organisations:
Dare2Dance - Empowering and increasing the aspirations of girls aged 14 - 16 and encouraging them to get involved in physical activity in school and in the local community, through the medium of urban dance.
Delivered by Independance, PRO-ACTIVE London Partnerships, Southbank Centre and other key partners
To find out more on London Youth Dance download the document below:
 [Acrobat PDF] | London Youth Dance Plans for 2009 - 2011 |
For more information about London Youth Dance and its work please contact:
Melanie Precious: London Youth Dance Strategy Manager
Tel: 020 7863 8117
Hannah Dye: London Youth Dance Co-Ordinator
Tel: 020 7863 8116
Connect
Sadler's Wells
Rosebery Avenue
EC1R 4TN
Website: www.londondance.com/youth
