Get the music ready and prepare to razzle dazzle! That’s the message being sent to children of SEND schools and Youth Disability groups in London and surrounding areas as Para Dance UK and Alexandra Palace launch their exciting Youth Games Dance competition. Starting w/c 13th September 2021, schools and groups that sign up will have until the end of November to complete their routines using a fantastic resource pack containing pre-recorded dance videos, creative tips and live support from experts.
Is hot on the heels of last year’s successful “Big School SEND project” – a six-weekly summer dance programme set up by Para Dance UK and Alexandra Palace resulting in a showstopping performance. https://vimeo.com/545830822
This latest venture from the two partners will see participants able to enter one of four dance categories – Street Dance, Musical Theatre, Freestyle and Non-Genre either seated, standing or a mix of both. While final routines will be judged from video entries and all support activities will be virtual, they will work to the competition theme of “Big Live Moments” celebrating the return to live performance and drawing from stand out live performances over time.
“We are delighted to introduce our Youth Games dance competition in conjunction with the iconic Alexandra Palace,” said Samantha Parry, Project Manager of Para Dance UK. “Having a competition element to our youth dance programme will provide even greater incentive to keep moving and healthy – and also for children and young adults to have a lot of fun in the process! All entrants will receive a comprehensive resource pack to get them started. “We hope this will really inspire them. There are a number of videos for each category to learn from as well as performance advice, creative videos and even an opportunity to book a practice zoom session with your personal dance instructor. We can’t wait to see what young people can show us by the end of it.”
Para Dance UK and Alexandra Palace are extremely grateful to the generous funders who have made the project possible and allowing it to be just £15 for each school or group to register. These include London Response Fund, Walthamstow Stadium Sports Fund, Bailey Thomas Charitable Foundation, Bedfordshire & Luton Community Fund Trust, The True Colour Trust, Tottenham Grammar School Foundation, Haringey Council, & National Heritage Lottery.
Among the terms and conditions are that all entrants must be below the age of 25 and groups must be made up of at least 50% of the participants being recognised as disabled under the legal definition of disability.
Schools/groups will have until Wednesday 15th September 2021 at the latest to book their place with resource packs being released on w/c 13th September 2021.
Winners will be announced in a fun filled virtual event at the end of the year.
To book your place and for further information regarding the competition please visit: https://youthgamesdancecomp.eventbrite.co.uk