workshops

Our aim is to provide opportunities for people to experience professional dance, either by watching or by taking part.

Our dance workshops are designed for people of all ages and abilities, adapted appropriately and often conducted alongside a demonstration from our dancers. We have given workshops at local and pre-professional dance schools, Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools, Colleges and Universities, Care and Retirement Homes. The workshops are great fun and encourage movement for well-being, expression and creativity.

We have a carefully selected group of professional dancers who lead these workshops, all DBS checked, highly trained in their field and with extensive teaching experience. Our leaders are friendly and encouraging by nature, creating a safe environment for all participants to feel comfortable and able to experiment with movement.

Workshops are usually between 45-60 minutes and consist of a warm-up, some technical steps, a choreographed routine, creative tasks and an opportunity to share work at the end. There are elements to challenge the participants, both physically and creatively, and to boost confidence and physical awareness. For older participants, we give a more gentle or sitting down workshop, with movements to music, again stimulating creativity, well-being and artistic appreciation. 

Calling all children, boys and girls age 6-11 years with no dance previous dance experience required to take part in Antshillvania!

Children will participate in hours of fun and adventure!

Antshillvania is tailored for Key Stage 2 children who are full of energy and enthusiasm - giving them an opportunity to perform and dance with professional dancers during the Easter holidays.

Learning dance movement, technique, choreography as well as set and costume making, the week will culminate in a final performance – Friday 15th April @ 1.30pm – invite parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and neighbours to enjoy the show!

The storyline is based on a Rebellious Ant who seeks and encounters adventures, and in doing so, he learns life’s lessons. Full of fun, creativity, adventure and of course DANCE!! 

Case Study - December 2020

Immanuel and St Andrew Church of England Primary School

In the 3 weeks leading up to Christmas 2020, our 2 founders attended the school to work with two classes of Reception and two classes of year 2s for one hour per group per week. The aim was to create a Nativity performance which did not include singing (due to Covid-19) that could be video recorded for parents (as they are not allowed to enter schools as per usual).

Each class danced a routine for different Nativity characters:

Reception 1 - Angels

Reception 2 - Barn Animals

Year 2a - Shepherds and Sheep

Year 2b - Wise Men and Camels

Members of Year 6 spoke and acted out a short script to tie it together.

It was a great success and all the children loved taking part in the dance sessions and learning about the story of Christmas in a different format. The school were delighted with the outcome and have asked us to return before Easter 2021 to lead Year 4 Easter dance workshops.

Case Study - Uganda Aug 2019

In 2019, one of our founders (Rosy Nevard) along with dancers Alice Oakley-Jones and Jo McGregor and volunteer Emily Gascoyne-Richards, spent a couple of weeks visiting and working with various projects and charities across Uganda. Dance is the excuse to meet and spend time with these groups and is our common language. Working with Mutesi Rachael, Vanessa, Joel and Ivan, we visited:

Lugogo Junior Academy

Train Up A Child, Bugolobi

Project Soar at St James Secondary School, Lugoba

Kerry West Orphanage Project, Lake Bunyoni

Giants Senior Secondary School, Lake Bunyoni

World Shine Primary School, Rwentobo

Happy Valley Senior School, Mafuga

Watch the video highlights below:

Case Study: Leeds College Sept 2017

With a 30-year long connection to Barnsley and Leeds Colleges through The Our World Project, we want to continue to encourage and motivate each new group of young people who pass through the college each year. Working particularly with the theatre and drama courses, on our visits to the college we run dance and drama workshops to build confidence and creative thinking. The wonderful theatre facilities also provide an excellent opportunity for us to present the students with performances from The Our World Project. Workshops and performances were based on plays written on:

Mental Health Awareness (namely depression and suicide)

Equality

Women’s Rights

We were blown away by the students’ creativity which they channelled to express their thoughts and feelings on these topics during the workshops. The performances were also extremely successful opening up discussions on the topic and we were amazed at how open many students and staff felt in the safe environment of the theatre to talk about issues they were facing for the first time, and we were able to direct many students to find the counsel they needed within their college.

Case Study - Kemsing 2016

At Nova Grace Productions, we are dedicated to inspiring children and young people to dance as well as to be accountable world citizens. One afternoon in a tiny village in the fields of Kent, a group of the sweetest and most enthusiastic little dancers put on a show for their proud parents. Their own version of The Nutcracker. Few of the children had ever been to the theatre to see a ballet before so it was a pleasure to send one of our dancers to give them a professional demonstration and to encourage their love of ballet. It was a great success and since then we have provided 4 annual workshop days introducing them to different styles of dance.

Irish Step Dance

Spanish Dance

Contemporary

Classical Ballet Variations from Sleeping Beauty