ANNUAL REVIEW 2010/2011 www.ydance.org
ANNUAL REVIEW 2010 - 11
Since the company was established in 1988, originally as Scottish Youth Dance Festival, YDance (S and performance based dance for young people all over Scotland. YDance is respected in Scotlan organisation having Foundation status with Creative Scotland. The company’s innovative work in Department, which has commissioned two three year programmes of work from YDance.
YDance works across five main areas, which form the basis for the strategic development of the c •
Dance Participation – through the Free to Dance project for teenage girls, work with young provision of Higher Dance courses, partnership projects and response workshops
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Developing Talent – Project Y Summer productions, collaborations with Scottish Youth Arts
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Multimedia Resources /CPD – through sales of existing CD-Roms and related training, new i
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Performance for young people – with the establishment of a strong repertoire of productio with other companies
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Professional Development/Advocacy – providing ongoing CPD opportunities for YDance s in Scotland
Scottish Youth Dance) has grown into a National Youth Performing Arts Company, providing high quality participatory nd and elsewhere as a provider of high quality work, both participatory and performance based, and is recognised as a key the field of improving physical activity levels amongst young people is recognised by the Scottish Government Health
ompany:
refugees and asylum seekers, boys dance programmes, work related to the new Curriculum for Excellence in schools,
Companies and UK Youth Dance organisations, showcases, international work
issue and style based training packages and the development of the Choreographic interactive resource
ons and the development of new work to tour schools and theatre venues, both as YDance productions and in collaboration
taff and freelance dance workers, and through involvement in the wider lobbying process on behalf of the dance sector
The Free to Dance project ran for a third year in 2010-11, targeting inactive teenage girls in three areas of Scotland – Ayrshire, Glasg increase physical activity in teenage girls by providing them with opportunities to dance as an alternative to other PE and sport act backgrounds the chance to access and participate in a positive dance experience which is fun and appropriately challenging.
‘Thanks to the [Free To Dance Teacher] training I now know you don’t have to be a prima b
In 2010-11, the project achieved 23,877 participant attendances and ran 296 groups. 52 performances were held and 4 Award in D 5 teacher training courses took place with 126 participants. In February 2011 showcase performances were held in Ayrshire at the P and in Orkney at the Pickaquoy Centre. In addition to the live performances, some of the special needs groups working in Free to D theatres. An AGM was held in each of the three areas in the January - March term to update partners and consult on future delivery
‘Working with YDance is amazing - I really want
The Scottish Government Health Department has extended funding for Free to Dance for the financial year 2011-12. This will enabl same format for an additional year, while YDance works on planning the future of the programme with NHS Health Scotland and w
KEY FACTS & F • Approx 900 girls
• Well over 100 pro
• There are an aver
FREE TO
gow and Orkney. The overall aim of the project is to tivities. Free to Dance offers girls from a range of
ballerina to lead a dance class.’ FTD PROJECT PARTNER
Dance Leadership Courses involved 70 participants. Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, in Glasgow at Platform Dance made short films which were shown in the y of the project.
t to be a dance tutor like Anna.’ FTD MENTEE
le the team to continue to deliver the project in the working alongside Youth Scotland and Fit for Girls.
FIGURES
attend a Free To Dance session every week
oject partners have been involved in the project
age of 80 different dance sessions every week
O DANCE
In 2010-11 YDance completed delivery of the Ignite boys dance project in collabo Scottish Arts Council Inspiring Communities Fund. The Ignite project aimed to r year the project was successful in reaching over 1400 boys in different parts o the opportunity to see a high qualit
The project worked mainly with boys aged 11 – 16 in taster workshops in scho programme was delivered in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Perth & Kinross, Fife 2-day event at The Space, to work togeth
A new touring production choreographed by Andy Howitt of YDance and T to schools and public venues. In the majority of schools the free mainly taken up by all boys classes, a
‘Just to say what a fantastic performance we enjoyed last night. Am of almost 60 which, in Mull on a wild and wet November evening, w of the audience, and I think we can safely say we have an audience f the boys really enjoyed it. We had every P6 and P7 boy on Mull there (t too many to come along to the show because many live a fair dista trip of 3 1/2 hours), but 5 boys from nearby Tobermory – who h - persuaded a parent to bring them SHEENA MILLER, MARKETIN
The project also demonstrated a positive impact
‘I am writing from Dunfermline High School to say a final thank you w who were in school today. They held 2 workshops with large numbers and on both occasions I was delighted with the workshops and the e girls - plus some other classes who were in PE ) to watch the performa The dancers were impressive and having just introduced Dance as p the chance to see male dancers and to hopefully inspire some of th I would hope you can pass on my thanks on behalf of my de the chance to work with you ag DAVE BARCLAY, PT CURRICULUM, PHYSICAL ED
A Gala celebration to complete the project was due to take place at Tramway, Glas programme included professional male performances by Scottish Dance The boys groups own sho
The Ignite project provided wider engagement with dance for boys in Scotland. schools workshops, seen professional male dancers perform and taken part in works in Glasgow and Fife, and there are plans to
ration with Smallpetitklein Dance Company. The project was funded through the raise awareness of dance amongst boys and young men. Over the course of the f Scotland, giving them direct experience of dance taught by male tutors, and ty production with an all-male cast.
ools time and a programme of regular weekly classes out of school hours. The e, Angus and Glasgow. Boys from all parts came together in June 2010 for a her and to share their performance work.
Tommy Small of Smallpetitklein was produced in Autumn 2010, and toured e workshop sessions which accompanied the performance were and the performance was open to all
azing dancing, wonderful music and great set. We had an audience was a huge success. I have had enthusiastic feedback from members for dance performances on Mull. The workshops were great fun and the Iona boys couldn’t make it because of the weather). I didn’t expect ance away (Bunessan school brought 5 boys which meant a round had never been to an evening performance of any kind before m along, and they had a great time.’ NG OFFICER, MULL THEATRE
on the perceptions of dance for boys in schools:
which I would like you to pass on to all the members of your company which allowed me to get all S1 boys down and involved this morning xperiences the pupils received. I arranged for all S1 pupils (boys and ance in the afternoon and again this was a very positive experience. part of our S1 curriculum - which started last week - it gave the boys hem when they are back in class next week. As I said to begin with epartment to everyone who was here today - I hope we get ain at some point in the future.’ DUCATION DEP, DUNFERMLINE HIGH SCHOOL
sgow on 30th November, but had to be cancelled due to heavy snow. The planned eatre, Scottish Ballet, Dynion and the Ignite Touring Company, alongside the owcase performances.
Boys who otherwise had no experience of dance have participated in tasters and shops and performances themselves. The project leaves a legacy of continuing work o develop work in other areas in the future.
YDance established Project Y in 2006, as an aspir Youth Companies, but had previously been lacking an intensive period of creation and performance, including Filip van Huffel, Errol White and Duncan other projects, home and abroad. Project Y partic events such as the launch of Homecoming 2009 a Youth Arts company with Scottish Youth Theatre a
In 2010, YDance commissioned Bryan Beattie of C positive, demonstrating the impact the project ha
‘It is a great project and a unique opportunity possibilities in dance, the professionals alread PROFESSIONAL DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER O
In 2010, Project Y took place in Glasgow based at The Elements students performed to an invited au Aberdeen (part of Aberdeen International Youth F Welig. Following a review of the impact of taster and other agencies providing Higher Dance and in Edinburgh to attract applicants for the 2011 cours
‘I got an accurate idea of what full time dance PROJECT Y PARTICIPANT
Three Project Y participants were chosen to take p participants also took part in an exchange program
rational company for young dancers in Scotland, an aspect of work which had long been in place in the other National g in dance. Project Y allows talented young dancers in Scotland to develop their technique, knowledge and craft over and to tour under professional conditions. Project Y has commissioned 20 new works from a range of choreographers n MacFarland. Throughout the year the dancers within this production company have opportunities to be involved with cipants have taken part in international exchanges with Sweden, France and Germany, have performed at high profile and as part of the Delhi Handover cast for the Commonwealth Games, and formed part of the first combined National and the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland for an innovative production of Tam O’Shanter in 2009.
Creative Services Scotland to undertake a review of the first five years of operation of Project Y. The review was very as had on past participants, dance education centres, the wider dance sector and the arts sector in Scotland.
y. It is a great dance boot camp for budding young performers. It’s also a great way for them to become aware of the dy in place and allows them to experience a life away from home – all great benefits!’ ON PROJECT Y
t RSAMD. 39 young dancers took part, 25 in the Production company and 14 on the Elements foundation course. udience and the production company toured to RSAMD, Eden Court Theatre in Inverness and the Lemon Tree in Festival). Four new works were created, choreographed by Andy Howitt, Anna Kenrick, Errol White and Yolanda van sessions designed to attract applicants in previous years, tasters were held in January / February 2011 in schools n colleges offering dance training throughout Scotland. Two Open Door taster days were held in Glasgow and ses, which will be based at the new Speirs Lock Studios at RSAMD.
e training is like and got to meet an amazing range of people with exciting and varied dance styles.’
part in the cast for the Glasgow Handover Ceremony at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October 2010 and mme in Sweden in March 2011.
HIGHER DANCE/GLOW & CO
Following the success of the Aim Higher programme delive in three local authorities in 2009-10, YDance was awarded f Scottish Arts Council and Learning Teaching Scotland’s GLO Fund, to support the continued delivery of Higher Dance b lessons and teacher training through GLOW (the Scottish S backed by an extensive online resource bank. The project a PE teachers skills to enable them to deliver dance, to impro delivery of Higher Dance in schools, increase candidate nu pass rates, and to enable schools to share experiences and The project combined direct delivery by YDance tutors, on for teachers through GOW meets, and the creation of a GLO Higher Dance, including teacher and pupil zones with exte and text resources to facilitate dance work in schools.
GENERAL WORKSHOPS
Throughout the year, YDance responds to requests for dance workshops from schools, local authorities and other groups. Company policy is to try wherever possible to negotiate longerterm workshop projects in partnership with other agencies rather than one-off workshops, and projects are tailored to individual needs. YDance offers a range of themed workshops for schools, to cater for all ages from Nursery to P7. Tailored programmes of work are also available, ranging from one-off workshops on a particular theme, to term-long regular sessions leading to performances or sharings. In 2010/11 the trend marked in the previous year of a reduction in requests for workshops, from schools and Local Authorities continued, reflecting budget reductions for this work in the education sector generally. In order to address this, and to encourage schools and other agencies to work with the company, YDance has developed a range of workshops related to Curriculum for Excellence, Intermediate 2 and Higher Dance, and is widening the reach of training and workshop activity to include voluntary youth organisations and organisations working with marginalised young people. 2010/11 saw an increase in general workshop activity over 2009/10, mainly due to involvement in a number of one-off projects funded through the SAC Inspiring Communities Lottery Fund, including the Body Currents project in the Highlands, and Only Boys Allowed, a music and dance project managed by Horsecross in Perth. Collaborations included work with Aberdeen City Council on a Commonwealth Games themed project, with Conflux in the Briggait in Glasgow, Aberdeen International Youth Festival Dance Lab, a pilot project with the National Museum of Scotland and the establishment of a boys dance group at Bridgeton Community Learning Campus in Glasgow. Response workshops took place in Comrie, East Ayrshire, Hamilton College, and Tramway in Glasgow, and a four-week alcohol awareness themed programme was provided for Right Track in Bridgeton, Glasgow.
INTERNATIONAL
Sweden: Over the past three years, YDance has developed a the Folkuniversitetet Gymnasium in Linköping, Sweden, an school providing full-time dance education to young peop January 2011 a group of students from the school visited D for a week with YDance participants from previous Project Y students from the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance A return visit to Linköping took place in March 2011, funde Youth in Action Fund administered by the British Council.
Germany: In November 2010 two YDance staff and a group from the Free to Dance project in Glasgow took part in an e Nuremberg. Funded by the cultural exchange department Council the trip formed the return leg of an exchange whic August 2009, when a group of girls from Nuremberg worke Dance participants in Glasgow. During the visit, both group to create a contemporary dance piece which was performe dance festival hosted by Weise69.
O-CREATE
ering Higher Dance funding from the OW / Co-Create by providing dance Schools Intranet) aimed to increase ove quality in the umbers and improve d best practice. nline CPD sessions OW microsite for ensive video, audio
a relationship with n upper secondary ple aged 16 – 19. In Dundee, working Y companies and e at the Space. ed by the EU
p of 7 participants exchange visit to of Glasgow City ch started in ed with Free to ps worked together ed at a children’s
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES & CPD
In 2010 YDance, with funding from the SAC Resilience Fund, appointed an external marketing specialist to research and create a new sales and marketing strategy for the company’s educational resource library, focusing on the Choreographic resource. Based on the resulting report, YDance began to implement a series of marketing activities designed to reach new markets and increase sales income, initially within the UK and then moving into the international marketplace. Educational organisations and key dance contacts across England and Wales are being targeted through phone and e-marketing and YDance is negotiating with educational resource publishers to sell Choreographic. The strategy has Choreographic as it’s principal focus, but it will also create new opportunities to sell on other existing resources, and to promote YDance’s programme of CPD Training and workshops. The strategy will continue to be rolled out in 2011/12. YDance offers CPD sessions for teachers based on the full range of multimedia resources available, a tailored programme of courses based on Higher and Intermediate 2 Dance delivery, and sessions on different dance styles and issue based work. Session planning is done in consultation with the commissioning organisation to enable the most appropriate content for each individual programme. In 2010/11 YDance delivered CPD for youth workers on introducing dance with teenage girls in out of school settings through the Free to Dance project, 8 sessions with North Lanarkshire Council on Curriculum for Excellence, sessions for South Lanarkshire Council in April 2010 and January – March 2011, sessions in West Lothian and North Ayrshire, and continued the annual programme of input to Glasgow University Initial Teacher Training.
PERFORMANCE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
In 2010/11 this aspect of the company’s work was incorporated into the Ignite project, with the collaborative production of two pieces by YDance and Smallpetitklein – Touch Paper choreographed by Andy Howitt and Trigger choreographed by Tommy Small– touring to schools and theatres. YDance has no current plans for future productions for young audiences. Despite the success of previous productions, the lack of available funding for this type of work, and the fact that Education Authorities are not able at present to buy in work of the scale presented to the extent where it is financially viable has led the company to put this strand of work on hold for the next financial year.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & ADVOCACY
YDance supports core staff, full-time dance workers and freelance staff to develop their skills and themselves. In 2010/11 full-time Free to Dance project staff have had regular training sessions, and attended the Move It! Conference and trade fair in London. YDance core staff attended a range of trainings and conferences at outside organisations including the Arts Marketing Association, Independent Theatre Council and Children in Scotland, and in-house training days were offered to existing and new freelance dance workers. YDance continues to support dance students work experience placements for young people from various colleges each year. YDance is actively engaged in the development of the dance sector in Scotland and in the UK. As members of the Federation of Scottish Theatre YDance is involved in the Dance Sector Working Group, which is formulating a Dance Advocacy Strategy for Scotland. The Executive Director is representing the dance sector in Scotland on the UK Dance Takes the Lead group, which is planning a UK wide Big Dance programme as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The youth dance sector in the UK is also coming together to work on joint initiatives for 2012, including an extension of the U.Dance programme run by Youth Dance England to involve a joint programme of work by YDE, YDance in Scotland, Dance United in Northern Ireland and Youth Dance Wales. YDance participants will also form part of a UK Youth Dance Ensemble which will perform at the SouthBank Centre in London in July 2012. YDance continues to work with the other National Youth Performing Arts Companies in Scotland on the future development of young people’s work. Following a meeting with the Minister for Culture in June 2010, the companies will be contributing to the development of the Youth Arts Strategy being drawn up by Creative Scotland in 2011.
UNDER THE SAME SKY
YDance continued to work in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council, on the third year of the Under the Same Sky project in 2010-11. The project was funded by the Lankelly Chase Foundation, and Glasgow Life. In June 2010, a company of 60 dancers from all over Glasgow performed at The Tron Theatre as part of Refugee Week. The dancers ranged from 9 - 17 years old and included Congolese, Kurdish, Scottish, Pakistani, Iraqi, Botswanan, Turkish, Afghan, Slovakian, Polish, Somalian, Iranian, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese and Cameroonian dancers. YDance has continued to work with the well established boys group in Knightswood, who have also taken part in some of the Ignite programme opportunities in 2010. Under the Same Sky will culminate in 2011, with the creation of a dance film which will show alongside live performances at Refugee Week in June and serve as a legacy of the project and a resource for other groups.
STAFFING
During the year, Projects Co-ordinator Sarah Potter left the company. The post was taken up by Victoria Ram, formerly Marketing Assistant. Nicola Muir was appointed to the revised post of Marketing and Business Development Assistant. The post will focus on delivery of the marketing strategy for interactive resources. Sarah Stuart left the position of Dance Development Officer in July 2010. Yvonne Young (Assistant Director) returned from maternity leave in November 2010. Andy Howitt left YDance at the end of February 2011 after serving as Artistic Director since 1999, to take up the post of Artistic Director with Citymoves in Aberdeen. The Board of Directors wish to thank Andy for his service to the company during his tenure as Artistic Director and wish him every success in his new post. Anna Kenrick took over as acting Artistic Director in March 2011. A new appointment will be made in 2011.
THE BRIGGAIT
In June 2010 the YDance office was moved to the newly redeveloped Briggait building in Glasgow. The new premises not only offer more suitable accommodation, with all staff now working in one space, but the company is also benefiting from being in an arts focussed building, with informal connections being made with a number of other performing and visual arts practitioners which could lead to future collaborative work.
YDANCE STAFF 2010/2011 Carolyn Lappin
Executive Director
Andy Howitt
Artistic Director
Yvonne Young
Assistant Director
Anna Kenrick
Free To Dance Project Director
Victoria Ram
Projects Coordinator
Esther Currie
Marketing Manager
Nicola Muir
Marketing & Business Development Assistant
Denise McLeod
Office Administrator
Lauren Quigley
Administrative Assistant
Lisa Yip
Free To Dance Development Officer (Ayrshire)
Caroline Burnside
Free To Dance Worker (Ayrshire)
Gillian Smith
Free To Dance Worker (Ayrshire)
Sarah Smith
Free To Dance Development Officer (Glasgow)
Kelly Shearer
Free To Dance Worker
Vicky Millen
Free To Dance Development Officer (Orkney)
YDANCE BOARD 2011/2011 Zoe van Zwanenberg Ian Dewar
Chair Treasurer
Philip Brady Mhairi Currie Stewart Harris Emma Jones Carolyn Lappin Matthew Lowther Gordon McAllister George Smith
YDance would like to thank the following for their financial support in 2010/2011:
Lankelly Chase Foundation
Youth in Action