DanceSyndrome has received a significant boost to our funding after being chosen to receive a grant worth almost £200,000 from major UK funding body Spirit of 2012!
Spirit of 2012 is an independent trust, established with a £47m endowment from the Big Lottery Fund. They fund projects that empower people to get out, be involved and feel better, working with partners that provide opportunities in sports, physical activity, arts and culture, volunteering and social action. Spirit has awarded over £650,000 from the Spirit of Achievement Arts and Culture Challenge Fund to three separate projects. All three of this year’s projects focus on inspiring disabled and non-disabled people through music and dance.
DanceSyndrome applied to Spirit to request funding to enable them to continue to provide inclusive dance workshops and leadership training, enabling people with and without disabilities to come together to enjoy dance sessions that cater for people of all ages and abilities. They hope to expand on their current provision and engage with even more people to show how much fun inclusive dance can be and how good it is for people’s wellbeing. DanceSyndrome also want to reach out to more people through live performance and share the message that we should all focus on ability rather than disability and challenge existing perceptions about people with disabilities.
DanceSyndrome Managing Director Dawn Vickers said “Receiving this funding from Spirit of 2012 is a huge boost for DanceSyndrome! It means that we can reach out to even more people and show them not only that dance is a powerful tool for building confidence, life skills and happiness, but also that everyone can be involved in all activities in our society, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.”
Spirit of 2012 Chief Executive, Debbie Lye, explained: “This year’s challenge fund focuses on inspiring people through music and dance, and all three of these projects got us very excited about the innovative ways they will be doing exactly that. Dance Syndrome is an excellent example of user-led inclusive arts development.”
If you would like more information about any of the work that DanceSyndrome does, please contact the team via email at info@dancesyndrome.co.uk.
More information about Spirit of 2012 can be found at http://www.spiritof2012trust.org.uk/
