Next Youth Dance Network Meeting

Dancescape Youth Dance Network Meeting
plus a free ticket to Boys Dancing ‘Evolutionary Moves’ performance

When: Wednesday 17th March 2010
Where: Warwick Arts Centre (National Grid Room)
Time: 5.30 – 7pm

Dancescape will be hosting a Youth Dance Network meeting at Warwick Arts Centre for teachers, artists and youth dance leaders in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire prior to the Boys Dancing performance ‘Evolutionary Moves’. The Network meeting will take place on Wednesday 17 March from 5.30 to 7pm and will have a focus on developing boys dance activity, as well as the usual opportunity to catch up on current youth dance opportunities and news. The Evolutionary Moves performance will start at 7.30pm and a free ticket is available to those who attend the network meeting.

The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire sub region has become well known for its success in getting boys into dance due to various initiatives and projects that have taken place in recent years. Warwick Arts Centre has been running boys dance projects in partnership with Beingfrank Physical Theatre for more than 5 years now, which has helped to develop boys dance in at least 10 schools to the point where it is now an accepted activity for boys to take part in and boys have chosen to study dance at GCSE level and further. The Boys Dancing project is a natural development of past projects whereby Warwick Arts Centre, Beingfrank Physical Theatre and Dancescape are making partnerships across the West Midlands to take boys dance even further!

The network meeting will include further information from teachers and youth workers that have seen the success of boys dance development in their settings as well the opportunity to meet some of the boys and hear first hand why they love dancing so much!

Discussion points will include:
- The challenges of introducing boys dance to your school/setting – how to convince the
‘non-believers’ (kids and colleagues!)
- Setting up a project – buying in an artist, running a club/project and engaging boys
- How to advocate for boys dance within your school/setting
- Why boys dance works - facts and figures to help ‘sell’ your project idea and the
personal/social effects for participants
- Q&A – ask your questions about boys dance to a teacher, a youth worker, a young person, or a
dance project manager

We would also love to hear from those of you who have experience of running boys dance activity, to add to the discussions about what works and what doesn’t.

As most people will be coming straight to the meeting from work/school/college and going straight to the Evolutionary Moves performance afterwards, a buffet will be served as part of the meeting.

To find out more about the Boys Dancing project please visit: http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/education/current-projects/boysdancing/
Here you will find footage of some of the boys dance projects that have happened so far – it’s a real taster of what can be achieved!

To book your place at the Dancescape Youth Dance Network Meeting, please email Hayley Duffield, Youth Dance Contact, hduffield@solihull.gov.uk or call 0121 704 6309. Booking is required due to the reservation of tickets to the performance and dietary requirements for the refreshments.