Creative Network - Dance

Are you involved in dance participation?

Creative Lives runs an online network to connect anyone working, volunteering or participating in community dance engagement/outreach, dance education and the amateur dance sector across the UK and Ireland.

Our next Zoom meet-up will be on Wednesday 23 June, 9.30-10.30am when we'll be exploring ways to encourage boys and men to participate in community dance.

Our guest will be Tamsin Fitzgerald of 2FacedDance and Paul Burrows, a dancer with Edinburgh-based community group 24 Carat Gold.

To join us on 23 June, please register free on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-network-dance-tickets-158873176949

All welcome!

You can also join the dedicated Facebook group here, to share ideas, ask questions, post videos, inspire and be inspired, connect and create.

Previous Creative Network: Dance meet-ups

8 May 2020 - How we emerge from the lockdown, and what that might mean for the participatory dance community?

Guests: Morag Deyes, Artistic Director, Dance Base & Chris Stenton, Executive Director, People Dancing

29 June 2020 - How people are approaching meeting up again in person with their various communities:

Guests: Rosie Whitney-Fish, Chief Executive & Artistic Director, DanceWest; Joce Giles, Sadler's Wells (Company of Elders); Laura Nicholson, Head of Children & Young People's Dance, One Dance UK; Rashmi Becker, Director, Step Change Studios (dance with disabled and non-disabled people); Ayanna Allen, Operations Coordinator, Magpie Dance (dance with people with learning difficulties); Liz Clark (dance artist specialising in working with early years children).

28 July 2020 - Looking at the DCMS guidelines on dancing together in person, and how studios are preparing for it.

Guests: Chris Stenton, Executive Director, People Dancing; Matt Roe, General Manager, Dance Base.

26 August 2020 - Dancing outdoors: the challenges and opportunities.

Guests: Amy McGann and Ruby Wolk from the Learning & Participation Department at the Royal Opera House talked about their community project 'Doncaster Dances', and we showed a pre-filmed interview with two dancers from the Royal Ballet about their innovative take on performing outside.

29 September 2020 - Dance & Wellbeing

Guests: Scottish Ballet's 'Dance For Parkinsons' coordinators

28 October 2020 - Cross-generational dance

Guest: Ron Otten, Biodanza Foundation, Netherlands talked about the Hand-in-Hand Dance Program, after we shared this beautiful video of the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZ348o3ZQs&feature=youtu.be

14 January 2021 - Keeping the energy up while dancing online

Guests: Emma Jayne Park from Cultured Mongrel talked about her 'Daily Dancing' project which sees people come together to dance at 10am each weekday morning; Helen Kumar from Dance City who spoke about running their classes online and early years dance artist Liz Clark of Our Creative Adventure who explained how her use of props helps keep younger dancers engaged.

18 March 2021 - Exploring ways to encourage new participants (or 'pre-dancers') to discover the joy of dancing.

Guests: Charlotte Armitage, Chrissie Moore of Dance East and Kathleen Murphy of Boy Blue Entertainment.

[Pictured: East London Dance's 'Your Stratford Stage' project]