Rhythmic movement and fancy footwork were the order of the day for young people who joined our February half term workshop, ‘A Day of Dance’ at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester. Participants aged 7-19 experienced four workshops in different styles of dance – Street, Jazz, African and Musical Theatre.
Whilst many of the young people had some dance knowledge, everyone was able to experience at least one dance style they had never tried before. Experienced dance teacher Penny Avery led the African Dance workshop with high energy resulting in plenty of smiles from those taking part. Local Street Dance artist, Isaac Farmer, pushed participants out of their comfort zone with moves including the ‘Steve Martin’. Charlotte Fernandes led everyone in the Jazz workshops, encouraging movement with expression. And Myles Cork, who has recently been a cast member in The Bodyguard tour, taught choreography to the iconic ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ which everyone loved.
Participant feedback included: “exciting”, “enjoyable”, “fun”, and “wow”.
Ki Shaw, Activate’s Youth, Dance and Diversity Producer, said “The young people worked so hard – I think everyone was exhausted but full of joy at the end of the day! It was great to see them perfecting their choreography and focusing on their technique whilst having lots of fun. We were delighted to offer four very different styles of dance and can’t wait to run these sorts of workshops again.”
Street Dance workshop leader Isaac said “I really enjoyed my time teaching the workshops at the Day of Dance… It seemed all the dancers enjoyed themselves too!”
For more information about our youth dance programme, check out the Dorset Youth Dance page.
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Photos by Jayne Jackson.