Dance

West Yorkshire Sport is working in Partnership with Yorkshire Dance to ensure the rollout of Youth Dance England’s national brief in West Yorkshire.

The aim is to:

• To establish and nurture a sustainable youth dance infrastructure for West Yorkshire
• To improve and consolidate the regional offer to young people
• To improve, expand and develop the West Yorkshire youth dance workforce
• To provide clear and improved progression routes for young people interested in a career in dance

This will be done through the development of a West Yorkshire dance Hub, with West Yorkshire Sport being the lead partner coordinating the Hub.

Remit of the Dance Hubs

• To secure a network of partners, stakeholders and funders for the delivery of youth dance in West Yorkshire
• Participate in national and regional initiatives
• To widen access, raise standards and improve progression routes.
• The Hub will have a menu of activities from which to choose to reflect their own sub regional priorities, or may propose new ones.
• Deliver dance activities, platforms, performances and schemes either alone or in partnership with other providers
• To work towards a quality assurance framework
• To establish a sub regional youth consultation group
• To lead on the progression routes mapping resource, Dance Routes

Menu of Activities:

This is a list of proposed programmes of activity from which hubs may choose in order to meet their remit.

National Programmes

• U.Dance: A national framework to stimulate and coordinate dance performances at local, county, regional and national levels in and outside of schools, underpinned by Continuing Professional Development for teachers. It aims to provide every child and young person with an opportunity to participate in a dance performance each year. The Dance Hubs will work to increase applications to this scheme and will actively promote the benefits of the scheme to schools and youth groups. www.u-dance.org

• Stride!: The Young Dance Entrepreneurs programme, which develops young dance leaders. The Dance Hubs will work to increase young peoples’ awareness of this scheme and its application process and will work alongside the Youth Dance Strategy Manager to increase the number of applications from the Yorkshire region.

• Young Creatives: An annual programme designed to showcase the work of talented young choreographers aged 15-19, giving them the valuable support and profile they need in order to progress in dance. The Dance Hubs will work to increase young peoples’ awareness of this scheme and its application process and will work alongside the Youth Dance Strategy Manager to increase the number of applications from the Yorkshire region.

• Dance Links: Training and networking opportunities for dance providers to connect with schools, delivered through the PESSYP funded programme. The Dance Hubs will work to promote this scheme among dance practitioners and the organisations who would receive them to increase numbers participating.

If you would like any information about the West Yorkshire dance Hub or any of its national initiatives please contact Dan Stanley the Hub Coordinator. (Daniel.Stanley@wysport.co.uk or 01484234087)