DanceSyndrome is a charity that focuses on ability rather than disability. We work with a lot of talented individuals, with and without disabilities, who have lots of amazing ideas for driving the charity forward and lots of skills that we want to enable them to develop.

 

As part of our Spirit of 2012 funded project “Everybody Dance” we committed to running focus groups with the participants, but we decided to take this a step further a set up a regular forum for our dancers to share information, ideas and feedback. We know it is important for people to have their voices heard and we wanted to make sure that all of our dancers had that opportunity.

 

The Select Team was formed to help inform the decisions made by the charity trustees but the group also wanted to publicly celebrate and share their ideas, so we will be blogging about each of their meetings.

 

Here is a summary of their December 2017 meeting:

 

How has 2017 been for you?

Everyone agreed it had been a fantastic year!

 

What sort of chances would you like in 2018?

Some people felt that it would be great to start something new in 2018.

The group would like to do performances to a wider audience and to perform in different locations – they  would like DanceSyndrome to travel around the world!

 

What would you like more of in Dancer Development?

It was suggested that it would be good to do more duet work.

 

How can we raise our profile/fundraise?

There were lots of good fundraising suggestions including:

Strictly Ballroom competition

Dance-athon.

Sponsored swim.

Sponsored walk

 

What would you like to aim towards with DanceSyndrome? How do we get there?

It was suggested that it would be a good idea to do a YouTube video of the whole team dancing.

 

What would you like to report back to the Board of Directors?

The group would like more performance opportunities  and more street dance and they would like to  recognise everyone’s achievements!

 

Here is a video of Jen Blackwell reporting back to the Board of Directors in December 2017 about the discussions at the Select Team meeting:

 

 

The Select Team meeting provides really great feedback for us and helps us to know that we are doing things right and how we can take things forward in the future. We love to hear feedback from everyone, regardless of how they are involved with DanceSyndrome, so if you would like to share something with us, please get in touch by email at info@dancesyndrome.co.uk or by phone on 07597 942494.

 

If you’d like to read more feedback from our dancers, participants and professionals that we have worked with, you can visit the testimonials page on our website.

 

Sarah Calderbank is the Project Coordinator for DanceSyndrome’s Spirit of 2012 funded project. Her role involves promoting the charity and recruiting people to our workshops and training courses, as well as organising and attending performance at events. Here she writes about how valuable audience feedback is to DanceSyndrome and shares some of the amazing comments that came from the Edinburgh Fringe audiences.

 

One of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis in my job is doing justice to the work of our incredible dancers and adequately showing the true value of their work. Anyone who has ever seen the dancers perform or attended one of our activities at a special event will understand that with DanceSyndrome “seeing is believing”. It is incredibly difficult to put into words how the show makes you feel, even video doesn’t truly capture that special feeling or atmosphere that you feel when you are in the room with the performers.

 

Yet that is my job, to convince people that DanceSyndrome produce events worth watching and that we are creating something special which deserves investment for the future. So how on earth do I come close to demonstrating the magic of dance on paper? Well this is where feedback comes in. The comments that people share with us at DanceSyndrome events are so incredibly valuable. When people are caught in that moment and asked for their feelings, they often give thoughts that are honest and heartfelt. They capture the moment in a way that I can’t; because I know and love this charity, I believe in what we do and I am so heavily involved in it, I can’t give an unbiased opinion anymore.

 

I knew when we signed the contract for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows that this was a really significant event in DanceSyndrome’s story. I knew it was a great news opportunity, that the dancers would have the time of their lives and that we would all come home incredibly proud. What I found harder to predict was the audience response. Selling tickets for an event from 300 miles away is a challenge and it was hard to gauge how successful we would be at selling seats at our shows. I should never have worried though, our amazing team were out on the streets meeting people and handing out flyers and as Becky Rich told me after the first show, it was amazing how positive people were and how eager they were to speak to our dancers. We sold over 80% of our tickets and, crucially, we got feedback forms back from most of the people who attended the shows. Not only had our dancers gone to Edinburgh and successfully sold those shows, but the feedback shows that they challenged perceptions, they inspired people and they made people feel happy. This feedback is the icing on the cake for our team. It’s a wonderful feeling to hear that people we don’t even know are affected by our art and believe in what we do! (Picture: Becky Rich is interviewed on the Royal Mile by a journalist from Humans of the Fringe to promote the shows)

 

I hope that by sharing these comments we can give an idea of what it is like to see a DanceSyndrome show to people who have never experienced it, and for those who have, we hope they evoke that special feeling you get when you see such a special performance!

 

Audience Feedback on Orbit at Edinburgh Fringe

 

Amazing performances, great to see an integrated group. Thank you!

I loved your performance!

It was both beautiful and inspiring and deserves to be seen by a much bigger audience.

Absolutely beautiful performance! Loved the partnering between ALL dancers, with absolutely no discrimination at all!

Good luck! I hope to perform with you!

Found it so inspiring. The vulnerability and strength shown was just beautiful…. Such a spectrum of themes and feelings expressed. Very poignant.

I think it’s amazing this company exists. Giving equal opportunities and chances to everyone. I’ve always felt the attitude of the performing arts industry, regarding disability and appearance needs to change – and you guys are making that happen. WELL DONE!

Disabled people can lead a full life with proper and appropriate support from able bodied people and also their disabled peers.

So heart-warming and beautiful, you could feel the love from everyone on stage. Easily one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.

This was such a beautiful performance. Thank you for opening my eyes.

Brilliant performance. Absolutely beautiful.

Absolutely amazing, reduced me to tears, well done fantastic performance.

It was beautiful and inspiring. Thank you!

Thank you it was wonderful .

Brilliant performance, very inspiring I would love to see more.

I’m not sure if the dancers followed the programme, but the one I now think of as the “lad dance” was truly lovely.

My Son (31) has cerebral palsy and went to a wonderful performing arts college The Orpheus centre, in Surry for young people with disabilities. We have witnessed amazing performances by these able individuals. Your show was another one thank you.

This is INCLUSION. A very professional performance, incredibly moving and the enjoyment for the performers is evident. It really needs a far bigger audience. Well done!

Beautiful.

As good as any of the other dance I’ve seen at the fringe.

The performance was extremely moving and amazingly put together, seeing how happy each member of the cast was made it even more incredible. Keep doing what you’re doing! Love all of you.

Loved the show, well done pity it’s not longer!

It was amazing and we really, really enjoyed the performance.

I love that there was humour, sexuality hetro & LGBT. The girl in the wheelchair sparkled. Thank you for the show.

This sort of work is greatly needed. The expression of joy in the eyes of the girl in the wheelchair gave me a feeling of joy also.

This piece was so beautiful and incredibly moving. So impressive! Well done.

My daughter (Down’s syndrome) loved it and clapped enthusiastically.

 

 

If you would love to see DanceSyndrome perform, keep up to date with our upcoming events via our Facebook and Twitter pages. We’d love to see you at one of our events!

As we come to the end of the first year of our Spirit of 2012 funded project, we are collecting together lots of evidence to demonstrate the impact of our work. We wanted to share this amazing case study about Dance Leader Becky Rich, who has truly exceeded all expectations this year!

 

 

2016-17 Case Study: Becky Rich

 

Becky Rich is 26 years old and has been involved with DanceSyndrome since 2014. Becky completed DanceSyndrome’s unique “Dance By Example” training course in the first year that it was delivered.  Since then, the training course has been developed and refined and in October 2016 it was delivered for the first time as a Level 1 qualification. It was felt that Becky would be an ideal candidate for the new qualification and the last 12 months have seen Becky go from strength to strength in so many different ways.

 

Becky has clearly demonstrated increased wellbeing this year. She genuinely loves her work with DanceSyndrome and clearly gets a lot of enjoyment from it when you see her leading and performing. Speaking about her life with DanceSyndrome she said ” We have lots of fun together in everything we do. We’re having the time of our lives.  I am very thankful and grateful.” However, the most obvious demonstration of her increased wellbeing is the friendship she has recently formed with DanceSyndrome Founder  Jen Blackwell. They have a very unique bond and truly understand and care for each other, something which has been translated into a new duet performance which they are currently choreographing and rehearsing, with an aim of performing it publicly in the very near future.  Becky describes this relationship with real passion, “I am so lucky to have a heartfelt friendship with the Founder of the charity. She means everything to me. We love performing together and bringing joy and happiness to people. I want to help her to fulfil her dream of travelling around the world dancing in different countries and educating them about acceptance and to end discrimination once and for all.”

 

Helping to bring about a positive change in perception of disabled people in the community is something that Becky has become increasingly passionate about over the past year. She has attended several conferences and events in the past year, giving speeches about the importance of challenging perceptions of disabled people and enabling true inclusion. She also gave a speech at DanceSyndrome’s March Board Meeting which was broadcast live on social media (https://www.facebook.com/dancerleddisabilityinspired/videos/1372213976132642/). Speaking about the importance of challenging perceptions, Becky said “Together we show the power of love, joy and happiness and show that people with disabilities can dance, express themselves and have freedom.  We show people that people with disabilities can be included and accepted in society and reach out to people and give them better lives. We want to reach out to people and help them to dance and have better lives.”

 

An important way that DanceSyndrome attempts to challenge perceptions of disabled people is by enabling our dance leaders to actively participate in activities in the community. Becky volunteers regularly with DanceSyndrome and has attended over 20 outreach activities and special events since September 2016 (something she was not involved with prior to the start of the Spirit of 2012 project). These activities have reached many diverse audiences, from workshops with children with autism to activities in care homes for older people, charity fundraising and awareness raising events to mainstream dance festivals . Speaking about these types of events she said “I love how I see the people believing in themselves and being accepted into society which is not easy in general for people with special needs and disabilities.”

(Image: Becky performing at an awareness event on Down’s Syndrome Awareness Day 2017 (second from right))

 

As well as these events, Becky is becoming truly integrated in the community by running a weekly session in a day centre, on a voluntary basis, which is completely independent of DanceSyndrome. She is a real advocate for the benefits of volunteering. In November 2016 she was chosen as Volunteer of the Year at the Lancashire County Council Pride awards and in early 2017 she was signed up as a spokesperson for the Lancashire Volunteer Partnership, with her story being used in advertisements, social media videos and billboard posters (Her story can be read on their website here: https://lancsvp.org.uk/about-lvp/our-featured-volunteers/).

 

Becky has always had a positive attitude towards participation but she is becoming increasingly inspired by her involvement with DanceSyndrome and demonstrates real pride in the work she does for us. She continues to push herself to participate in different  aspects of the work the DanceSyndrome does, expanding from dance leadership to public speaking, talking to journalists and marketing performances. November 2016 was Becky’s first performance in DanceSyndrome’s Orbit production and by August 2017 she was out on the streets of Edinburgh talking to people about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows and encouraging them to come and witness the power of inclusive dance.  She said “We were very touched by the positive response that we received when handing out our flyers on the Royal Mile to promote our show. Also we had fantastic audiences on both days which made it really special for us as performers and we think we really connected with the audiences in a special way. We all had a very special and fun time in Edinburgh.”

(Image: Becky is interviewed in Edinburgh by a journalist from “Humans of the Fringe“)

 

 

The way that Becky throws herself into all aspects of DanceSyndrome’s work, advocates for other people with disabilities, speaks out about inclusion and challenges perceptions of disabled people makes her a true role model that inspires others. But she is taking this even further by inspiring the other dance leaders to also speak out and have their voices heard through a new initiative called the DanceSyndrome Select Team. The Select Team is a focus group style meeting which gives the members (Dance Leaders and their families/support) the opportunity to discuss issues such as inclusion, community involvement, dreams/aspirations and potential opportunities for the future. The outcomes of the meetings are then shared via the DanceSyndrome blog (https://dancesyndrome.co.uk/dancesyndrome-launches-select-team/) to enable the voices to be heard outside of the forum too.  Becky explains how she helped to initiate the formation of this group, “I know my fellow leaders should have every right to have a voice and express their views about the world we live in and how things can be changed. Our lives are difficult to change so I decided to take action straight away. I spoke to Dawn (DanceSyndrome Managing Director) about forming a sub-board which I have called “DanceSyndrome Select Team”. We held the first meeting and I heard the voices of my fellow leaders. What touched me most was when I heard the excitement and enjoyment in their voices.  Being offered this opportunity to be heard is a dream come true.”

Blog article DanceSyndrome Launches Select Team https://t.co/mQ51Z4tnKa #blog #dance #charity #equality #inclusion #havingavoice #beingheard

— DanceSyndrome (@DanceSyndrome) August 28, 2017

 

Becky has become much more engaged with DanceSyndrome and the community in the course of the first year of the Spirit of 2012 project. She is very proud of her contribution to DanceSyndrome’s work and is becoming increasingly excited about the future. She said ” I love dancing for the people knowing my dance teaching will leave them smiling, it is very touching for me knowing that they are having a good time. I feel great when we perform together with my fellow leaders and we get the job done. I am performing in great places with my fellow leaders and we get standing ovations everywhere we go. People leave feeling happy and smiling. The joy we bring to their faces everywhere is very touching for me, it will stay with me for the rest of my life. Nothing can stop us now!”

(Image: Becky, DanceSyndrome Founder Jen Blackwell and Dance Artist Donna Harrison at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival)

 

If you’re inspired by Becky’s story and would like to join DanceSyndrome as a volunteer or participant, please get in touch via info@dancesyndrome.co.uk

 

Peter is a volunteer Dance Leader with DanceSyndrome and has recently taken on an administration role too, helping with our social media, collating research data and helping around the office. He has been heavily involved with DanceSyndrome since the very early days and he tries to join in with all aspects of our work, so we thought he was the perfect person to write a regular blog for DanceSyndrome! You can find out more about Peter in his case study https://dancesyndrome.co.uk/peters-story/

 

In August, our dancers performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the team did an amazing job, not only in terms of their performances, but also in promoting the shows and generating interest in the performances through handing out flyers and chatting with people on the streets of Edinburgh. Here is Peter’s blog about his experiences at the Fringe:

 

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: 12^th – 15^th August

 

Saturday 12^th August 2017

I travelled to Edinburgh on Saturday by train it took 3hr 25mins. When I got there I walked down to the apartment to drop my suitcase off before meeting the others at the Surgeon’s Hall performance venue. Then we went off to have some free time until Sunday, so me, Jen and Donna went to Frankie and Benny’s to have some tea.

 

Sunday 13^th August 2017

We meet the other dancers to go over our flyering slots. Mine was 1pm-2pm and 4pm-5pm with Donna and Jen. Before our first slot, we went up to see the castle – it was cool! After we finished our last slot we went to watch a show called Showstoppers, it was amazing!

 

Monday 14^th August 2017

We all meet at the Surgeon’s Hall to get set for our first performance at the Fringe. It was an unbelievable experience and we had 70 people come to see us today! When we had finished, I stayed behind to watch another performance it was called Bassett. I meet back up with Jen and Donna then at 3.30-4.30pm we did our last slot promoting the show.

 

Tuesday 15^th August 2017

We all met up again for our last performance at the Fringe which was exciting and tiring because we did the 2 performances full out. It’s amazing how fast the turnaround is from one show ending to the next show starting! After the performance, I went back to the apartment and got my stuff and got the train back home.

 

Video below: Peter performs “Right of Passage” alongside David Corr and David Darcy

DanceSyndrome Launches “Select Team”

 

DanceSyndrome is a charity that focuses on ability rather than disability. We work with a lot of talented individuals, with and without disabilities, who have lots of amazing ideas for driving the charity forward and lots of skills that we want to enable them to develop.

 

As part of our Spirit of 2012 funded project “Everybody Dance” we committed to running focus groups with the participants, but we decided to take this a step further a set up a regular forum for the dancers to share information, ideas and feedback. We know it is important for people to have their voices heard and we wanted to make sure that all of our dancers had that opportunity.

 

Dance Leader Becky Rich suggested the name of “Select Team” for this group and the group agreed on it. Becky also took the role of Co-Chairperson for the first meeting and for future meetings the role of Co-Chairperson will be shared between any group members who would like to take a turn. This group was formed to help inform the decisions made by the charity trustees but the group also wanted to publicly celebrate and share their ideas, so we will be blogging about each of their meetings.

First of all, lets meet the group members:

 

From left to right, top to bottom:

Jen Blackwell

Lizi Boothby

David Corr

Pauline Hall

Peter Pamphlett

Becky Rich

Jonathan Rodman

Jodie Turner

The group are supported by:

Sophie Tickle (Lead Artist)

Dawn Vickers (Managing Director)

Nicole McKenna (Dance Artist)

Donna Harrison (Dance Artist)

 

The group meetings are also attended by the dancers’ family members and support workers.

 

The first meeting:
The Select Team held their first meeting on Wednesday 28^th June 2017 at Plungington Community Centre, Preston.  They talked a lot about what they felt were the biggest successes of the year and the feelings that they reported are truly a testament to the importance of the work that DanceSyndrome does.

 

In early June, the dancers gave a performance in Manchester with Centre Pointe Dance and they talked about how much they loved performing and the audience clapping and cheering.  It made them feel happy, fantastic and included.  They met new friends and learned new dance skills. Everyone was looking forward to performing in Birmingham and in Edinburgh and they agreed that it’s important to have something to look forward to and to work towards.  They all said they’d smash Edinburgh and make people sit up and take notice!

 

They talked about other ideas for the future like going on “Britains Got Talent” and this lead to a discussion about how important the audience are to the dancers.  Some of them feel that applause and cheering are important to encourage them, while others are so engrossed in their performance that they don’t notice at all. One thing that they all agreed on was that they wanted to carry on dancing because it made them feel happy, they looked forward to it and that they felt like part of a dancing family which was really important to them.

 

The group also had a discussion about what concerns them. Everyone said they felt happy and secure in the dance space and to continue this, they had a brief discussion about things that they want to avoid talking about in those sessions so that everyone remained comfortable in the dance space.  They also talked about whether everyone felt included in Society or not and how this made them feel, as well as how they were involved within their own local communities and social groups.

As part of the discussion about involvement, Society and community everyone said they refused to be defined by disability and everyone agreed the dancers are all amazing role models!

 

The professional Dance Artists said that never in their careers had they been enabled to work in such an inclusive way and, in their opinion, it is the best way to work.  Everyone makes  an active contribution to the dance content and the Dance Leaders’ have been seen to grow not only artistically but also in self-efficacy and agency. Parents and carers said they’d seen positive development in the team, as well as with individuals, over the past 2 years.

 

Everybody feels that DanceSyndrome is unique in the way that it offers high quality opportunities and wonderful opportunities for close relationships to form. This is something really valuable to them that they really don’t want to change.

 

This is all really great feedback for us and helps us to know that we are doing things right and how we can take things forward in the future. We love to hear feedback from everyone, regardless of how they are involved with DanceSyndrome, so if you would like to share something with us, please get in touch by email at info@dancesyndrome.co.uk or by phone on 07597 942494.

 

If you’d like to read more feedback from our dancers, participants and professionals that we have worked with, you can visit the testimonials page on our website.