People across the West Midlands are being encouraged to get into the groove as part of Dancing for the Games - a dance project inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
To be unveiled to the public at ArtsFest, the UK’s biggest free arts festival, on Saturday 11 September 2010, Dancing for the Games is one of several projects in the West Midlands region that is part of the official London 2012 Cultural Olympiad – a four year celebration of UK arts and culture.
The programme, which is funded by Legacy Trust UK, Arts Council England West Midlands and Advantage West Midlands, aims to get people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to try dancing as a way of getting active and having their own ‘Olympic Moment’ right here in the region.
At Artsfest, members of the public will be invited to take part in Bhangra and Bollywood dance workshops run by internationally renowned South Asian Dance Company, sampad, as well as treated to impromptu dance performances by Hereford-based street dance company, 2facedDance. In addition to opportunities to watch and participate in dance activities over the weekend, there will also be a dedicated Dancing for the Games information point where members of the public can sign up to a mailing list and receive the latest information on classes, competitions and events in their patch. Those people already dancing, are also being encouraged to get involved now by sharing their dance images, videos and blogs at www.DancingfortheGames.co.uk.
The activity at Artsfest is the beginning of a two year public engagement programme which is made up of a mix of public activity all aimed at engaging large numbers of people across the West Midlands with dance, whether that is participating or watching.
With an investment of over £2million into the region’s dance infrastructure over the next two years, it is estimated that some 164,000 people will be given new opportunities to take part in the programme across the West Midlands dancing between now and 2012 through the programme.
Dancing for the Games was launched to the dance sector in 2009 and 14 projects across the West Midlands have already been commissioned as part of the programme. Ranging from a mass participation project along the route of the Severn Valley Railway to a dance project celebrating the Black Country’s chain-making heritage, there are currently 14 projects across Birmingham, The Black Country, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire and Worcestershire, that have been commissioned as part of Dancing for the Games. For a full list of projects that have been commissioned so far across the region, see below.
There are two remaining dates for bids for commissions to be submitted in 2011 – further details can be found at www.wmfor2012.com/peopledancing
Paul Kaynes, West Midlands Creative Programmer for London 2012, said: “Dancing for the Games is a really exciting programme that perfectly captures the spirit of London 2012. An Olympic and Paralympic first, the London 2012 Games has put culture and involving the whole of the UK at the very centre of its planning. Dancing for the Games allows people to have their very own ‘Olympic Moment’ right here in the West Midlands and by 2012, we hope that there will be people dancing in every corner of the region and more people than ever in the West Midlands who have made dance part of their everyday lives.”