6:41pm Friday 4th July 2008
Exploring the diversity, accessibility and fun of dance, Big Dance creates extraordinary events in unusual places and encourages as many people as possible to become involved in dance.
The following events are all part of Big Dance and take place between 5 - 13 July.
Why Men DO Dance
Older Dancers' Collective
On Friday 11 July, a Wiltshire group from the Till Valley Day Centre at Shrewton, Salisbury share some of their dance work at a performance opportunity in the Tacchi Morris Arts Centre in Taunton.
Older peoples groups from across the South West will meet others and share their dance experiences and skills from 1pm - 4.30pm.
These dancers recently took part in Dancing Through Life, a dance project for the over eighties.
They'll be performing a new piece called Dreamcatchers. This is inspired by the wall hanging at the Till Valley Day Centre that members made together.
They will take this with them to Tacchi Morris.
Till Valley Day Centre has been part of Wiltshire Dancing's Dancing Through Life project from February this year. They've had weekly sessions led by dance artist Rebecca Seymour. They performed at Wiltshire Dancing's Celebration event at the Salisbury playhouse in June, and are looking forward to more performance opportunities.
Raindrop - under 5s
Where Does A Raindrop Drip? is an interactive dance performance for the under 5s. It uses three dancers to tell the story of a raindrop on its way from the sky to the sea. The children will encounter ducks and frogs in a pond; row on a river; have fun at bath time; and finally have an underwater adventure with mermaids and sea creatures. The children will have worked on various things you might find in the sea - starfish, crabs, shells etc.
These are used to enhance the performance workshop. Nurserys at Children's Centres in Trowbridge, Westbury, Corsham and Calne are all taking part.
Mr Wippy and The Conettes
It is choreographed and directed by Mary-Louise Flexen.
DanceXpress 2
DanceXpress 2 is being held on Saturday 5 July at the Arc Theatre, Trowbridge. Dance workshops in Krumping (urban African American street dance), Contemporary dance, Street Jazz, Capoeira and Samba are on offer from 11am - 5pm. These will be open to 13-19 year olds, regardless of abiltiy.
Between 7pm and 7.30pm Beribazu Capoeira, a Brazilian dance troupe based in Bristol, will perform a welcome routine as people arrive for the show. They will perform with young people who attended their workshops in the afternoon, accompanied by live music, outside the Arc Theatre.
Many of the youth groups, which will perform in the evening, have been working with themes around diversity in dance and local heritage. This term groups have been trying Contemporary, African dance, Salsa, Parkour (free-running) and Hip Hop. The Wiltshire based groups have generated choreographic material and film footage which will be integrated into their live performance pieces.
Dance artists have been working with young people and youth workers on the Roots N Motion project in Pewsey, Salisbury, Chippenham, Devizes, Calne, Amesbury, Warminster and Westbury. There will be ten youth dance performance pieces, with over 70 young people involved. A number of short international dance films will also be shown.
Big Dance
Exploring the diversity, accessibility and fun of dance, Big Dance creates extraordinary events in unusual places and encourages as many people as possible to become involved in dance. Big Dance offers opportunities for dancers and non-dancers alike to perform, participate or simply to watch.
Big Dance is an Arts Council England initiative, and activity in the South West is coordinated by Dance South West. Funding also comes from Youth Dance England. Details of the all Big Dance events in the South West are available now at www.5678.org.uk
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