Funding success for Shropshire international dance project
The Edge Arts Centre in Much Wenlock, William Brookes School and Shropshire Council have been successful in gaining major funding for an exciting dance and film project in conjunction with next year’s Olympic and Paralympic celebrations.
The project, which is called Encompass, will take place in Much Wenlock in July 2012 with workshops in schools across Shropshire.
Encompass is part of “Dancing for the Games”, which is inspired by London 2012 and part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands. It has been awarded a combined total of £190,000 by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Arts Council England, Advantage West Midlands and Shropshire Council.
Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for culture, said:
“Encompass will connect young people all around the world. Using dance, digital media and film, the project will create links across continents and wrap dancing images around audiences. Different styles of dance will collide, merge and collaborate. Young people from Shropshire and around the globe will form the core creative team, leading the vision for the project supported by experienced professional artists, to create a groundbreaking 360-degree dance and film extravaganza.”
Milner Whiteman, Shropshire Councillor for Much Wenlock, said:
“This is a unique and exciting opportunity for everyone in Shropshire, particularly the young people involved.”
Over the next few months the professional dance artists Toby Norman-Wright, Sonia Sabri and Anna Belyavin will be running dance and film workshops in schools across Shropshire in partnership with local digital media artists Chris Vandyke and Callum Goodwilliam from The Hive Digital Media and Music Centre.
In addition, online tutorials will be uploaded to create an opportunity for anyone anywhere in the county, country or the world to learn different dance styles and then upload their own dance films, that could become part of the grand finale event in Much Wenlock in July 2012.
The project is now recruiting for a co-ordinator and will be contacting local schools soon about the workshop opportunities.
For further information about the project go to: www.shrop.net/encompass or contact Shropshire Council’s community arts and festivals team on 01743 252305 or email: arts.service@shropshire.gov.uk
Further information
Encompass is a collaboration between William Brookes School, The Edge Arts Centre and Shropshire Council’s community arts and festivals team. The artistic team working with these partners will be: Toby Norman-Wright (artistic director), Sonia Sabri (dance artist), Anna Belyavin (assistant dance artist) The Hive Music and Media Centre, and Igloovision 360-degree audio visual dome. William Brookes School is the UK’s only Coubertin School and a specialist Performing Arts College. This project links to the Coubertin Schools around the world, inviting young people from these schools to be part of the project both through digital links on-line and through actual participation in the final performances.
Dancing for the Games is part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands and is inspired by London 2012. It is a three-year programme funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Arts Council England West Midlands and Advantage West Midlands. Dancing for the Games uses the inspiration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to get as many people as possible dancing across the West Midlands.
The Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands is already touching the lives of thousands of people. To date some 347,400 people in the West Midlands have been involved in the Cultural Olympiad as audiences or participants, either as part of Open Weekend, the Inspire Programme, or through specific regional programmes. For more information about the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands, please visit www.wmfor2012.com/culture.
Legacy Trust UK is a Principal Funder of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival, and is in a unique position to help communities across the UK gain lasting and life-changing benefits from the 2012 Games. The Trust has allocated £40 million of funding to 12 programmes in each nation and region of the UK and four national programmes. This funding will act as a catalyst to link grassroots activities across into the Olympic programme, so that people from all walks of life – not just athletes and sports fans – can be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. For more information on Legacy Trust UK please visit www.legacytrust.org.uk.
