Dance Woking and Momentum Parkour were invited to lead assemblies this week for Year 7 and Year 9 at Woking High School, linking in with their Mental Health Awareness week. As well as explaining Parkour and its benefits by the team, James & Chris Harrison from Momentum did live demonstrations to show how to do 3 different types of jumps: Running Precision Jump, Step Vaults and Kong Vault Pre. This was followed by volunteers from a number of pupils watching willing to have a go at some basic jumps; year 7 pupils were more willing to try out new skills in front of their peers with the volunteers doing amazingly well at learning the jumps shown; year 9 found the experience more daunting but Year Head Mr Bland did volunteer following encouragement from his staff team and pupils and led the way.

For those who don’t know: Parkour was originally termed Art du Deplacement, but now as well as Parkour it is also referred to as Free running, and was founded in France in the 1980s

Why we like it, Parkour is:

• Non-competitive
• Uses running, jumping, climbing and quadrupedal movement
• It encourages self-improvement on all levels
• Reveals one’s physical & mental limits

The aims of Parkour is to:

• Build confidence
• Determination
• Self-discipline
• Self-reliance
• Responsibilities for one’s actions

What does Parkour encourage?

• Humility
• Respect for others and for one’s environment
• Self-expression
• Community spirit

It highlights the importance of:

• Play
• Discovery
• Safety at all time

Weekly Parkour sessions are back! Dance Woking is running weekly Parkour sessions every Thursday evening at Addlestone and Sheerwater Youth Centres. The sessions are running from now until March, new comers are welcome; for details follow the link: Rotate Parkour – Every Thursday

2019 video highlights

This activity is supported by: Surrey Community Foundation, Sportivate – Active Surrey, Arts Council England, Woking Borough Council, Surrey County Council Family Services

Dance Woking is delighted to confirm receipt of a grant to support our Spring 2020 Programme from Arts Council England’s Project grants fund. Celebrating 25 years of dance in Woking the Spring Programme forms part of the festivities focusing on the different ways we engage with our audiences providing opportunities to watch, take part and perform in dance. The grant has enabled us to bring James Wilton Dance Company’s new piece The Storm to Woking; James’s piece provides a stimulus for our work with Boys and wellbeing; his work is of a very physical nature with highly energetic movement. James’s work also explores the effects of mental health, likened to that of a storm, this aligns well with our dance and resilience project. Partnering with the Youth Service in Woking & Surrey we are taking our Dance & Resilience pilot project to Woking High School with funding from Active Surrey.

Additional activity that this grant is supporting is Evolve Youth Dance, which sees us deliver 3 days of dance for young people 12 years and older, led by James Wilton Dance, providing a great opportunity for local aspiring young dancers to work with a professional company. The group will learn company technique and develop their choreographic skills working towards a curtain-raiser for James Wilton Dance Company’s The Storm on Tuesday 25 February.

As well as developing our relationship with James Wilton Dance we are pleased to start a new one with Oxford based dance and theatre company Justice in Motion. The company will be delivering 3 days of performance parkour over February half term at Sheerwater Youth Centre, this is a development opportunity and follows on from our weekly Thursday parkour sessions called Rotate Parkour at Addlestone and Sheerwater Youth Centres.

For further details about Dance Woking’s February activities and performance platforms please see our website.

Dance Woking started the New Year by welcoming professional choreographer James Wilton to Woking.

A company member led a professional dance class for Dance Woking’s team of freelance dance teachers; the team were taught classic company movement by company dancer Sean as well as showing share some of Jame’s signature movement linked to his new work ‘The Storm’. The team are now working in various schools in Woking with groups working towards pieces to perform at Woking SLAM on Sat 29 February and the Boys Platform on Thursday 12 March.

James Wilton is quickly becoming known as one of the UK’s leading choreographers, renowned for creating breathtakingly physical choreography. Since forming his company, James Wilton Dance has toured extensively both in the UK and Internationally to critical acclaim, winning numerous awards including The Sadler’s Wells Global Dance Contest, 3rd Prize at The International Choreographers Competition in Hannover ( 2012), winner of the Audience Prize at 16Masdanza, 3rd Prize at The Berner Tanzprize.

Wilton has also choreographed and restaged works on many other leading companies, including Scottish Dance Theatre, Ballet Hagen, Oper Graz, Stadttheater Geissen, Konzert Theatre Bern and Tanztheater Münster. As well as choreographing for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Rugby League World Cup 2013. James is an associate artist at The Hall for Cornwall, Truro. JWD have an incredible output of education work, reaching over 3,000 people in the past 12 months alone.

Weekly Parkour sessions are back!

Dance Woking is running weekly Parkour sessions at Addlestone and Sheerwater Youth Centres every Thursday evening.

The sessions are running from January to March, new comers are welcome; for details follow the link below:

Rotate Parkour – Every Thursday

2019 video highlights

This activity is supported by: Surrey Community Foundation, Sportivate – Active Surrey, Arts Council England, Woking Borough Council, Surrey County Council Family Services

Dance Woking is looking for volunteers to help support our very exciting 25 Anniversary Year, and help us deliver our 2020 programme of events in Woking.

Dance Woking manages various dance events throughout the year, both indoors and outdoors, and we couldn’t do it without the enthusiasm and dedication of the volunteers who give up their time towards making our events run smoothly. Following a very successful Winter Shorts Programme we are now seeking volunteer support for our Spring and Summer programmes. If you are interested in discovering how volunteering can help widen your own experience and CPD opportunities please contact the office for further details.

To see our available opportunities please download Dance Woking Volunteer Pack 2020

For all our volunteering opportunities please contact Ellie Dowling and fill in Dance Woking Volunteer Application Form 2020

e-mail: office@dancewoking.com, Tel: 01483 495460, by post Ellie Dowling, Dance Woking, Pearl Assurance House, 28 High Street, Woking, GU21 6BW

We are delighted to share an amazing achievement for one of our projects in collaboration with Woking Youth Service. Sandie Bolger, Youth Development Officer at Woking Borough Council who works at Sheerwater Youth Centre was nominated for Active Surrey Community Project of the Year at the Sport Woking Awards 2019 in response to Rotate, the weekly Parkour Sessions held on Thursdays at Sheerwater Youth Centre. This project is run in partnership with Dance Woking. Sandie has encouraged some of the young people who attend the centre to volunteer and support Rotate as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. We are very proud of this recognition. In order to run this project funding support was received from Active Surrey, Surrey Community Foundation and Woking Borough Council.

If you are interested in supporting similar projects please do contact us on office@dancewoking.com. We are keen to develop new partnerships in order to continue to offer creative ways to support community cohesion through active engagement of young people.

We would like to thank you Woking Youth Service and Sheerwater Youth Centre for their support in delivering this amazing project. Congratulations to all winners and shortlisted nominees. Please see below the full article about Sport Woking Awards 2019.

https://woking.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/sports-activities-and-facilities/sport-woking-awards-2019

Please note that Rotate Parkour Sessions are back on Thursday 16th of January.

For details click here

Just in case you missed out here are links to four highlights from 2019:

Innovate 2019 November:

Young Dancemaker Highlights 2019:

Summer Highlights:

Richard Alston Company dancer Ihsaan de Banya is leading Dance Woking’s Evolve group this October half term; after two days of intensive dancing the group have already put together two and a half minutes of material.

The sessions start with technique class followed by the dancers learning some choreography from classic Richard Alston material such as Gypsy Mixture

From this material is put together.

The group will perform at Young Dancemakers in November and Innovate

We look forward to seeing Richard Alston Dance Company at New Victoria Theatre next week, 5 November

Some pictures from the group:

CEO of University of Surrey Students Union, Alan Sutherland, joins Dance Woking as the new Chair, he takes over from Louisa Bartlett-Pestell (Director of Programming Arts Depot, London) who resigned from Dance Woking at September’s Board meeting following a very successful 3 year tenure as a Trustee and Chair. Whilst Louisa will be greatly missed Alan joins Dance Woking along with four other new Trustees.

“I am honoured and delighted to be succeeding Louisa as the new Chair for Dance Woking. This is an energetic and dynamic charity which is providing a fantastic community resource for Woking and Surrey in making dance accessible to all. I am really looking forward to working with Sam and everyone else involved in Dance Woking over the next few years as we continue to welcome more of the community to our amazing activities”

Joining Alan on the Board is Chase Demmers (Educational Programme Development and Training Executive – Stagecoach Performing Arts Worldwide), Carla Kingham (Marketing Manager,Polka Theatre), Ross Carter (Targeted Youth Support worker) and Karen Robinson (Head of Learning and Standards for Creative Arts at Guildford College); for more details about Dance Woking’s dynamic and highly skilled Board go to: https://www.dancewoking.com/about/board/

We are very excited to announce that the Richard Alston Dance Company dancer Ihsaan de Banya will be leading Dance Woking’s 3 day dance intensive for those aged 12 years and older

To book onto the 3 day Oct Half Term dance intensive click: HERE

Exerts of Interview by One Dance UK with Ihsaan de Banya

Ihsaan was born in London, and began his training with The Place’s Centre for Advance Training (CAT) and Shift. During his time with both he danced works by Bawren Tavaziva, Tom Dale, Jose Agudo and Maresa Von Stockert. In 2010 he continued training at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating in 2013, dancing Theo Clinkard’s Murrisant (Ripening). Ihsaan joined Richard Alston Dance Company in 2013 as an apprentice, becoming a full member in 2014. In 2015, following the success of a 2013 Resolution creation, Ihsaan was commissioned by The Place to choreograph for the Company’s Alston At Home season. He created Rasengan, a danced for three exploring an abstract energy within us all.

How can dance help young people?

Dance offers the individual something special, as it nurtures an ability to have control of one’s own movements. I think when you are young and finding yourself, this sense of control is really important.

The notion of individuality is also important. Even if you are learning set steps, no two bodies will execute them the same. That sense of being different and together is extremely liberating. It offers a philosophy that is transferable to life.

Dance offers a form of expression, again completely individual to you. I believe that at a time when you are told what to wear and what you should be aiming for, and Instagram is brainwashing you into what success looks like, dance can still be something that is very much yours. Dance can be born from you and belong to you. No right, no wrong – just you and yours! Your dance. Your expression from your body.

How important is it to involve boys in dance from a young age?

I think it is important to emphasise, not only to boys but to any individual, that the innate relationship between emotion, movement and the body is a natural, normal thing. It helps you to connect in a natural and human way.

Also, many boys like to show off! So, why not jump higher, spin faster and longer and be more on point with the music? Why not be an artist? Surely you’ll stand out more than all the other boys playing football?

What is your favourite memory from working with Essential Alston?

I always enjoy every opportunity that I get to teach. I love the communication that happens between the teacher and the students. I love the exchange of energy. I love watching how information offered is interpreted through different bodies. I love helping and facilitating someone with that ‘light bulb’ moment when a movement just clicks. I genuinely have very fond memories of the creation with the young people from Northampton. No idea was too strange, no challenge seemed insurmountable to them and no movement was going to be left without a good attempt! This only makes my job easier and inspires me to keep pushing and be the best I can be.

Who/ what are your influences?

My biggest influence is my mother. She offered me a belief system and values that allow me to thrive not only in dance, but in life. I think influence is everywhere and comes in various forms. When I was training I was very influenced by the work of Rafael Bonachela and I loved Akram Khan’s Vertical Road when I saw it in my second year. In my third year, I worked with Theo Clinkard. His natural way of working and humanity really inspired me. The work of Marina Mascarell mesmerises me. Equally, I have been influenced by the many Japanese Manga and Anime I watched growing up. I’m influenced by my awareness of being a young black man within contemporary dance. I’m influenced by my desire to not let people watch dance passively. I’m influenced by the clarity and isolation I see within the dance style of poppin’. I hope I’m a little bit influenced by everything I engage with: a sponge absorbing information at all times. A constant learning experience of just living.