Yorkshire RegionStrategic Youth Dance Plan2012 - 2015

www.yorkshiredance.com

Welcome to the strategic Youth Danceplan for Yorkshire, a critical piece of worknot only for Yorkshire Dance but foryoung people and dance practitioners allover the Yorkshire region.

We believe that every young person should have thechoice to make dance a part of their life, whether as partof a physically active life-style or by pursuing a career;whether as artistic expression for its own intrinsic valueor as an activity that builds friends, fitness, confidence,enjoyment, a sense of fulfilment or even supports wideracademic achievement.

Crucial is the word ‘choice’: if options are limited, it islikely that those taking part will remain a select group.That is why we strive to support a dance ecology inwhich artistic and choreographic work coexist alongsidecommercial and populist dance forms: where genres andcultures can meet, inspire each other and celebrate therichness and variety of young people living in Yorkshire.

This strategy was developed in the context of YorkshireDance’s work with regional partners throughout 2011which itself followed a period of three years ofinvestment by Youth Dance England. During this periodYorkshire Dance built an infrastructure of 5 sub-regionaldance hubs in North, South and West Yorkshire, EastYorkshire & Hull and North & North East Lincolnshire. Itis with these hubs, as well as with the Regional DanceDevelopment Network that this strategy was developed.

This strategy forms a core part of Yorkshire Dance’sbusiness plan which will be delivered throughout thesame time-scale (2012 - 2015) against Arts CouncilEngland’s strategic priorities as a new National PortfolioOrganisation. We passionately believe during thiseconomically challenging time, in which social inequalitiesand poverty are likely to grow, that dance can play aneven more important part in engaging and inspiringyoung people and their communities.

“Dance, dance,

otherwise we are lost” Pina Bausch

(Pina – A film for Pina Baush

by Wim Wenders)

Yorkshire Dance Youth Juniors at Fresh 2012, Leeds© Brian Slater

Vision

Across the region we recognise that, in order to ensureall our young people have access to high quality dance,we need to draw together in the spirit that is YouthDance. Our vision for this strategy is for us all to workcollectively to establish an effective infrastructure, whichshares values and goals. This will enable us all to workbetter together, in partnerships, to develop high qualitycoherent dance experiences with clear progressionroutes for young people in Yorkshire and beyond.

Value Statement

Dance provides young people with unique experiencesthat embrace and develop creativity through fun,enjoyable, physical and emotional expression. Done well,dance has the power to make connections with a widerange of young people from all backgrounds, whatevertheir ability, in the most powerful ways, whether it be fora brilliant moment or as an experience that lasts a lifetime.

Purpose

Our purpose is to draw together and provide exemplaryand meaningful dance opportunities. Collectively we willoffer young people equal access, whatever their level ofinterest, to a diverse range of dance with coherentprogression routes. Therefore we will focus on threemain goals, with objectives, and implement action overthe next three years.

Goal 1: Strengthen the regional dance

infrastructure that extends the reach of

high quality youth dance provision.

We will achieve this by:

1.1 Establishing the youth dance strategy, action plan andoutcomes across the sub regional hubs and partners.

1.2 Building upon the partnerships across the region inorder to extend the reach of collaborative provision thatmakes the most of funding, people, buildings andresources.

1.3 Identifying priorities and create mechanisms thatprovide exemplary and innovative youth danceopportunities and experiences.

South Yorkshire HubDoncaster Youth Dance Showcase© Helen Watson

South Yorkshire Hub Boys’ Projectwith Wayne Sables Project© Helen Watson

West Yorkshire Hub, Centre for Advanced Training, Yorkshire Young Dancersat Northern School of Contemporary Dance © Gavin Joynt

Goal 2: Establish a coherent youth dance

offer that provides progressive dance

experiences from enjoyment and

education to employment.

We will achieve this by:

2.1 Providing a collective provision of progression routesfor young people to access a diverse range of danceopportunities.

2.2 Increasing high quality dance opportunities for youngpeople, in school and out of school, prioritising danceactivity in areas where there is least engagement.

2.3 Delivering coherent collaborative programme toavoid duplication and ensure clarity of understanding ofyouth dance accessibility across the region.

2.4 Developing performance opportunities sub-regionally, regionally and nationally to include exchanges,Dance Festivals and tours.

2.5 Providing vibrant and exciting opportunities foryoung dancers to create their own work and have ‘real’opportunities to link with professional dance companies.

2.6 Ensuring young people are at the heart of decisionmaking to shape the developments that are current andrelevant for youth dance.

2.7 Collectively producing a bi-annual regional youthdance conference linking wherever relevant to nationaland international agendas.

2.8 Producing a range of high quality communicationsthat provides a high profile for the region’s youth dancethat is resounding, current and accessible.

Colburn Youth Group, North YorkshireFresh 2012© Brian Slater

Fresh 2012© Brian Slater

Yorkshire Dance half-term projectwith HipHopHuis, Richmond Hill, Leeds

© Yorkshire Dance

Goal 3: Develop the region’s youth dance

workforce by building capacity, raising

standards and retaining artists, teachers

and leaders to strengthen the quality of

dance provision across the region.

We will achieve this by:

3.1 Providing a structured programme including informalindustry building for dance practitioners, artists andteachers for access to appropriate training that meetstheir needs and includes ‘on the job’ experiences andformal training.

3.2 Identifying and delivering provision for primary andsecondary schools to raise the standards in danceteaching and impact on learning.

The intention of the strategy is twofold.

To drive action and extend reach with partners to alignpriorities and connect together in order to establish acoherent youth dance offer.

The objectives under each goal operate to reinforceeach other, are interrelated and at times overlap. Theaction plan focuses on how each regional sub hub willrespond to each objective.

The action plan and current infrastructure can be foundat www.yorkshiredance.com/yrydap

For further information on the hubs, visitwww.yorkshiredance.com

North Yorkshire Dance© Nigel Whitfield

Breakdance class at Yorkshire Dance© Paul Greenwood

Streetdance class © Paul Greenwood

South Bank Hub showcase 2011

Main Regional Activity 2012 - 2015

The main areas where activity is drawn togetherregionally are:

2012-2013

Future Dance Makers – a range of youth dancecommissions delivered across the region as part of BigDance that focuses on stimulating choreographicinnovation and raising standards of dance making withand by young people.

Deliver a Youth and Community Dance

Conference that raises the visibility of the regionalyouth and community dance offer, across all sectors,which inspires people by increasing knowledge andunderstanding, fostering innovation and creativity, andraising standards with good practice.

An annual Programme of Performances thatincreases the range and raises the profile of excitingperformance opportunities for young people across theregion and beyond.

Fresh 2013, the Region’s Youth Dance Platform,develops a fringe festival with young people programmingas well as performing.

Regional Youth Dance Website – establish a websitefor young people about young people’s dance, including arange of other social networking tools whereappropriate.

Producers and Leaders – increase opportunities toensure that young people are at the heart ofdevelopments, and driving forward the region’s youthdance offer.

2013-2014

Future Dance Makers continues to develop youngchoreographers in the region, performing at a range ofvenues, festivals and events.

Regional Youth Dance Programme of performancesand progression routes from grass roots, training andcompanies.

Fresh 2014 – Festival of Youth Dance with curatedspaces and stages produced and programmed by youngpeople.

Youth Dance on Tour – a regional tour of youth danceperformances in new spaces and places.

Producers and leaders drive forward youth danceprogrammes that include curating, marketing andadvocating across groups in the region.

Yorkshire’s 2012© Andy Wood

Indian classical dance© SAA-uk

Yorkshire Dance YouthFresh 2012

© Brian Slater

2014-2015

In this year the regional activities will be drawn togetherto focus on; a yearlong festival of youth dance that isweaved in and out of Fresh 2015, the second Youth

and Community Dance Conference and a nationalYouth Dance Tour.

By 2015 we will have:

• a regional infrastructure for youth dance that effectivelydelivers, across all sectors, a high quality diverse range ofdance opportunities for young people.

• young people at the centre of the region’s dance offerthat is current, vibrant and inspirational.

• an established network of artists, practitioners andteachers that delivers a high quality, diverse range ofdance throughout the region.

Impact Assessment

The qualitative impacts of the arts can often be the mostdifficult to measure. A mapping exercise is currentlyunderway in each of the sub areas that will provide uswith baseline information enabling us to measure theimpact of this strategy’s action plan on an annual basis.

The quantitative data is under review and theinformation gathered via YDE will contribute to theregional baseline data. The strategy aims to value, in equalmeasure, both qualitative and quantitative data.

In the main this will be done through the strategy’saction plan where, against each objective, there areanticipated incremental milestones.

Underpinning this strategy will be the inclusion ofchildren and young people’s voices to help us developeffective evaluation methods that will feed intodevelopments on an annual basis.

The assessment will also provide increasedunderstanding on the differential outcomes that dancehas on young people’s learning and their lives. This will beadvocated across all sectors in order to increaseknowledge into opportunities.

Hull College Youth Dance in Fresh 2011© Brian Slater

Garforth Academy in Fresh 2011© Brian Slater

RJC Youth Dance Company in Fresh 2011© Brian Slater

www.yorkshiredance.com Front cover: DAZL Youth Dance Company in Fresh 2012 © Brian SlaterBack cover: Hull College Youth Dance in Fresh 2011 © Brian Slater

contact Paula TaylorYouth & Community Dance DirectorYorkshire Dance0113 243 9867paulataylor@yorkshiredance.com