DanceSyndrome has a unique job opportunity for an experienced Data Manager to join our close-knit team. This is a part-time role (8 hours per week) based in the North-West with flexibility for both office and home working. Alternatively, there is potential for this to be a negotiable Freelance opportunity.
We are currently looking for a Data Manager to join our existing team of business and dance professionals. The current focus is to lead and manage our data collection, monitoring and evaluation frameworks and analyse results to better inform our work and how we can best people with learning disabilities.
DanceSyndrome, a charity since 2013 has established itself as the leader of inclusive dance in the North-West and is considered to be one of its kind with its ‘unique selling point’ of dancers with learning disabilities at the forefront of all activities and who feed into all our work from being represented on our Board of Trustees to workshop delivery, choreography, and performances.
This is a really exciting time for our charity with a recently appointed new Managing Director on-board and the creation of an Artistic Director role who together make up the senior management team. In April 2022, we launched our new strategy: Vision 2025 with three key strands:
You can download the full application pack, including the Job Description and Person Specification here.
Equal Opportunities:
The DanceSyndrome family is filled with passionate and motivated people. We are keen to hear from applicants who identify as Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic, LGBTQIA+ and those with a disability. You do not need specific experience of dancing or working previously with people with learning disabilities, we are looking for people who believe in what we do and want to support DanceSyndrome to grow its impact and to help create a fairer, more inclusive and equitable society for everyone.
To Express An Interest In Applying:
To apply for the role, please send a CV and covering letter to the Managing Director, Julie Nicholson on julie@dancesyndrome.co.uk with “Job Application” as the email subject.
If you would like an informal chat about the role, Julie can be contacted by phone on 07887 931510
We will be interviewing as and when suitable candidates apply, so please apply as soon as possible.
There will be a two-stage formal application process.
Everyone at DanceSyndrome is celebrating after our Founders were announced as the winners of a national business award at the high-profile Best Businesswoman Awards ceremony in London.
Jen and Sue Blackwell were announced as winners of the Charity Champion Award at the Best Businesswomen Awards which took place on Friday 30th September at The Hilton, Wembley. The Charity Champion Award celebrates a female founder of a charity that has had a huge impact on its service users. As a result of being chosen as winners, the awards organisers are committed to fundraising for DanceSyndrome for the following year, providing much needed financial support for a small, local charity.
Congratulations to Jen and Sue Blackwell- DanceSyndrome @dancesyndromeuk our Charity Champion of 2022!
Presented by our sponsor for this category @CariadMarketing#BBWA2022 pic.twitter.com/Z6hHcpm2pt— Best Business Women (@bbwomenawards) September 30, 2022
DanceSyndrome was formed by Jen, with support from her mum Sue, because they found it difficult to find opportunities in community dance that were accessible to Jen and other people with learning disabilities. We work across the North West with the ethos that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams. All DanceSyndrome sessions are disability led, with people with learning disabilities taking visible Dance Leader roles to inspire people to see what can be achieved when society is more inclusive.
As well as winning at the Best Businesswoman Awards, Jen has also recently been a finalist in the Charity of the Year category at the Enterprise Vision Awards and has also been nominated for the HER-Abilities Award at the upcoming She Inspires Awards in November.
Speaking about the award nominations, Jen said “I’m honoured to have been nominated for not one, or two but three awards this year! Being nominated for these awards shows that people with learning disabilities can do amazing things with their lives if given a chance. Dancing is my life, I am passionate about dance and about supporting people like me to have opportunities in the dance world.”
Jen’s mum, Sue Blackwell, DanceSyndrome’s Chairperson, said “‘I am incredibly proud to be the co-founder of DanceSyndrome alongside my daughter Jen and husband Malcolm. Being recognised, respected and valued for the person you are is a human right but not always afforded to a person with a learning disability. Awards are one way to redress that, especially awards like this where a person with a learning disability is able to compete with people without a disability on a level playing field, decided purely on the vision, determination and focus of the individual. As Jen’s mum, I am delighted that her vision is affording opportunities to others equally passionate about dance and challenging and changing perceptions of people with learning disabilities.”
DanceSyndrome Managing Director, Julie Nicholson, said “It’s incredible now to see so much recognition for the work that Jen and the rest of the DanceSyndrome team have been doing to support people with learning disabilities. DanceSyndrome’s main aim is to empower people with learning disabilities to succeed in the dance sector and to help society to see what can be achieved when people are given the right support to follow their dreams. Being nominated for these awards helps us to raise the profile of people with learning disabilities and celebrate their achievements.”
The award nominations came through following a number of other recent successes for our charity. We have had high profile TV appearances on ITV’s Vick Hope’s Breakfast Show and Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, alongside Strictly’s 2021 winner, Giovanni Pernice. DanceSyndrome was also recently awarded funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. We will receive almost £180,000 to continue our inspirational work to use dance as a medium to empower and make positive changes for people living with learning disabilities.
To keep up to date and hear the news as it breaks, you can follow DanceSyndrome at @DanceSyndromeUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
DanceSyndrome Ambassador takes part in Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay
DanceSyndrome Dance Leader, Ambassador and Spokesperson Becky Rich was thrilled to be invited to take part in the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay. Becky, 31, from Preston, took part in the relay as it passed through Blackburn on Saturday 16th July outside Ewood Park. Becky happens to have Down’s syndrome and was chosen to take part in the relay as a result of her significant contribution to local communities and learning disability advocacy.
Carrying the baton was a very special moment for Becky and she has written an account of the day which she wants to share with the public so that people can see what people with learning disabilities are able to achieve, with the right support.
Becky Rich: My day as a Queen’s Batonbearer – 16th July 2022
I am Becky Rich. I am age 31 and I am Ambassador and Spokesperson for DanceSyndrome charity.
I live in Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire. I live with my Dad and Claire and my brother Alex. My brother Alex is in London.
My hobbies are walking in Avenham and Miller Park. I really love my Boxing. I absolutely love it.
In my Dancing family DanceSyndrome my very good friend Dawn Vickers nominated me to be a Batonbearer of the Queen’s Baton Relay Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022. The nomination was in and days away my nomination is successful. I was very, very excited to be chosen and it feels great. I absolutely loved it.
Days away I got my Batonbearer uniform and it felt absolutely fantastic. I screamed and punched the air. It means a lot to me.
#TeamDS Dance Leader & Ambassador Becky Rich is thrilled to have been chosen as a Batonbearer in the @birminghamcg22 Queen's Baton Relay! Becky will carry the baton in #Blackburn between Ewood & Darwen on Saturday 16th July at 16:50pm if you'd like to support her!#B2022 pic.twitter.com/8r3AhxiLsg
— DanceSyndromeUK (@DanceSyndromeUK) July 12, 2022
I took my Batonbearer uniform to get it professionally altered to get my uniform to fit me.
Over the next few days I got my uniform back and ready for my big day.
On the day 16th July I went to Blackburn Rovers football stadium with my Dad and Claire and I met my two fellow Batonbearers and after that my friends and family came to support me.
After that at 4:30pm the convoy arrives and with everyone of the QBR team and my police escort arrived. At 4:45pm the QBR team police escort arrived with the baton and they came to me and given me the baton. When I got the baton in my hand I felt I was on top of the world and I am patriotically honoured to fly the very proud flag of our home country Great Britain UK I am so proud to call home.
We set off with my police escort. I was carrying the baton I decided to walk while I was carrying the baton and then I took my time and I was really enjoying it every minute of it. We went back towards the Blackburn Rovers football stadium. When I got around the corner with the baton the crowd went crazy. They were clapping, screaming and all the rest. For me by golly goodness me that was jolly great. I given the baton to my police escort they put the baton into position onto the stand. I stood right by the baton. I pointed to the baton. I stirred up the crowd and then they all went berserk really screaming and I was absolutely loving it. After that my police escort got the baton off the stand and they gave it back to me.
I was carrying the baton to the exit and then at the exit I raised up the baton and the crowd and my friends and family really did jolly big screams. When I turned round I given the baton back to my police escort and they were on their way to the next location. I have done it.
https://twitter.com/DanceSyndromeUK/status/1548358598283038720
After that I was with my family and friends to celebrate. After that my Dad and Claire and I went back to Preston Blackbull pub to have a celebration drink. This is my special day of my life. I really love everyone and I can’t thank you enough.
Becky Rich,
DanceSyndrome Dance Leader, Ambassador and Spokesperson
To find out more about Becky’s role with DanceSyndrome, you can read her case study on our website.
If you’re inspired by Becky and the Dance Leader team and would like to support our work with a donation, you can donate directly using the form below:
DanceSyndrome launches ground-breaking NHS video project
As part of DanceSyndrome’s mission to change the way that people think about learning disabilities, we have launched a ground-breaking project in partnership with NHS England.
DanceSyndrome has created a series of six informational videos which demonstrate the many ways that people with learning disabilities can live fulfilled lives, contributing to society and becoming visible leaders, performers, and advocates. The project has been supported by the national nursing directorate at NHS England and the videos will be shared with healthcare professionals, including Midwives and Learning Disability Nurses, to give them new insight into their work with individuals with learning disabilities and their families.
The videos in this new project combine information about how individuals with learning disabilities contribute to the services that DanceSyndrome offers with evidence of the health and wellbeing benefits of dancing, as well as the benefits that come from people being included, empowered, respected, connected and enabled to be creative.
The pioneering project presents inspiring case studies of people with learning disabilities who are pursuing careers in dance, as well as demonstrations of dance which are co-led by people with learning disabilities in line with DanceSyndrome’s unique co-delivery model which puts people with learning disabilities in visible leadership roles.
DanceSyndrome Managing Director Julie Nicholson said “This has been such an important project for DanceSyndrome. One of the most important parts of our mission is to change the way that people think about disability and what people are able to achieve with the right support.
“The videos talk about how there is beauty and significance in all movement and the importance of adaptations in making activities truly inclusive and accessible. They show why inclusive activities are important for people with and without disabilities to make connections, build friendships and learn transferrable skills which can be used in all aspects of life. The aim is to help people to discover the power of creativity and why it is important to see people with and without disabilities collaborating to choreograph and perform high quality dance pieces in an inclusive, supportive way.
“DanceSyndrome has always aspired to extend our inclusive practices and impact beyond the dance world and into society in general and we strongly feel that this project will pave the way to a more inclusive future for everyone.”
The videos can also be viewed on the Learning Disability Nurses website.
All the information that you need about DanceSyndrome should be included on our website, but if you have any specific requests, please get in touch with us through info@Dancesyndrome.co.uk
DanceSyndrome has an exciting and unique opportunity for a Community Outreach Manager to join our close-knit team in Lancashire. This is a part time role (16 hours per week) which can be worked flexibly with a combination of community, office and home working.
The Community Outreach Manager will join the Managing Director, Artistic Director, Fundraising Manager & Project Coordinator to lead and manage our Community outreach work developing strong partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders at the heart of our communities to increase participation in our Community ‘Everybody Dance’ sessions alongside engaging local support and engagement to ensure the long term sustainability of these sessions. The initial focus areas are Preston, Accrington, Clitheroe and Chorley with a long term strategy to grow this model and replicate it in a number of other communities across Lancashire.
This is a really exciting time for our charity with a new ambitious Managing Director who joined the organisation in 2021 and the creation of an Artistic Director role who together make up the senior management team. In April 2022, we launched our 3-year strategy: Vision 2025 with three key strands:
:
You can download the full application pack, including the Job Description, here.
Equal Opportunities:
The DanceSyndrome family is filled with passionate and motivated people. We are keen to hear from applicants who identify as Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic, LGBTQIA+ and those with a disability. You do not need specific experience of dancing or working previously with people with learning disabilities, we are looking for people who believe in what we do and want to support DanceSyndrome to grow its impact and to help create a fairer, more inclusive and equitable society for everyone.
To Express An Interest In Applying:
To apply for the role, please send a CV and covering letter to the Managing Director, Julie Nicholson on julie@dancesyndrome.co.uk with “Job Application” as the email subject.
If you would like an informal chat about the role, Julie can be contacted by phone on 07887 931510
There will be a two-stage formal application process.
We will be interviewing as and when suitable candidates apply, so please apply as soon as possible.
DanceSyndrome is celebrating after our Founder, Jen Blackwell, was chosen as a finalist at three different upcoming award ceremonies all in one day!
Jen was announced as a finalist in the three different awards on Friday 1st July. The first announcement was that Jen was nominated as a representative for Charity of the Year Award at the Enterprise Vision Awards. The winners will be announced at a glittering awards evening on Friday 23rd September at the iconic Empress Ballroom in The Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
The second announcement was that Jen had been chosen for the Charity Champion Award at the national Best Businesswomen Awards which celebrate the outstanding success of female entrepreneurs. Jen will be awarded either a Silver or Gold Award at a gala event at The Hilton in Wembley on Friday 30th September.
The third announcement was that Jen had also been nominated for the HER-Abilities Award at the She Inspires Awards. This award is given to a special woman who, despite her disabilities, inspires people through her positive contribution to the community, workplace or family. The awards will be presented in a hybrid event on Thursday 24th November, with people attending in person at the University of Bolton Stadium in Horwich or online from around the world.
Speaking about the award nominations, Jen Blackwell said “I’m honoured to have been nominated for not one, or two but three awards this week! Being nominated for these awards shows that people with learning disabilities can do amazing things with their lives if given a chance. Dancing is my life, I am passionate about dance and about supporting people like me to have opportunities in the dance world.”
DanceSyndrome Managing Director, Julie Nicholson, said “There have been so many challenges for small charities like DanceSyndrome in the last two years. It’s incredible now to see so much recognition for the work that Jen and the rest of the DanceSyndrome team have been doing to support people with learning disabilities through those hard times. DanceSyndrome’s main aim is to empower people with learning disabilities to succeed in the dance sector and to help society to see what can be achieved when people are given the right support to follow their dreams. Being nominated for these awards helps us to raise the profile of people with learning disabilities and celebrate their achievements.”
The award nominations came through following a number of other recent successes for our charity. They have had high profile TV appearances on ITV’s Vick Hope’s Breakfast Show and Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch, alongside Strictly’s 2021 winner, Giovanni Pernice. DanceSyndrome was also recently awarded funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK. The charity will receive almost £180,000 to continue its inspirational work to use dance as a medium to empower and make positive changes for people living with learning disabilities.
To keep up to date and hear the news about the awards as it breaks, you can follow DanceSyndrome at @DanceSyndromeUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If you’re inspired by our work and would like to suport us with a donation, you can use the form below or visit Just Giving.
Wow! We have got our summer dance activities off to a great start in June with so many amazing events! Did you see us on Steph’s Packed Lunch with Giovanni from Strictly? We had so much fun recording the show with him! Then our #LDWeek22 Northern station takeover at Manchester Victoria got an incredible response and was featured on Vick Hope’s Breakfast Show too! We held a 7 hour long fundraising Dance-a-thon and attended some incredible conferences and events to celebrate Learning Disability Awareness Week. All in addition to our regular programme of dance activities!
We’re really living life to the full and we’d love it if you wanted to join us for some of our upcoming summer dance activities over the remainder of the summer. Don’t forget that dancing is for everyone and there is beauty in all movement, so there’s no reason to not get involved! Here’s a brief look at what we have planned so far…
Join us throughout July for our regular dance activities in person in the Lancashire community or on Zoom! You can book all sessions online at www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/sessions
In August, we are running a slightly different programme of activities to allow our dancers to have a break and enjoy their summer holidays. But if you want to join us in August, we are still running a series of special activities, again these are in person and online. Our full programme of activities will return after the August Bank Holiday.
If you’re Liverpool based, you can join Helen and Dave for their session in partnership with MDI.
https://twitter.com/MDIStudio24/status/1542163231770296321
Join David Corr and David Darcy at The Bay Health Festival in Lancaster at 12pm on Saturday 9th July.
Our Dancing Dave's are looking forward to joining @thebayhealthfes on Saturday 9th July. Join them at The Gregson, #Lancaster, for a fun, inclusive dance session that is suitable for everybody! All ages & abilities welcome!
More info here:https://t.co/zYxwMagDpd pic.twitter.com/hupogWucAj
— DanceSyndromeUK (@DanceSyndromeUK) June 30, 2022
Helen and Eliza will be co-leading an inclusive dance workshop at One World Together Community Festival in Accrington at 11am on Sunday 10th July. Find out more on our Facebook page.
We are also really looking forward to our next Northern station takeover, which will be happening at Blackpool North station on Wednesday 3rd August from 10:30am to 1pm.
We've had an amazing response to our station takeovers, so we've teamed up with @northernassist again to raise awareness about what people with #LearningDisabilities are ABLE to do. We'll be at #Blackpool North on Wednesday 3rd August at 10:30am – 1pm. Come along & meet #TeamDS! pic.twitter.com/zGNi7p9EDW
— DanceSyndromeUK (@DanceSyndromeUK) June 30, 2022
We hope to see you at one of these summer dance activities! Don’t forget that you can sign up on the Sessions page of our website.
Members of DanceSyndrome’s Dance Leader team were thrilled on Monday when they got a surprise visit from Strictly Come Dancing 2021 champion and dance hero Giovanni Pernice.
The team were attending a special rehearsal in Plungington Community Centre, Preston, which was being filmed for the Channel 4 TV lifestyle show Steph’s Packed Lunch. They had just returned to the session after lunch when they got a big surprise when Giovanni walked into their session!
On arriving at the community centre, Giovanni watched enthusiastically while the DanceSyndrome Team demonstrated the way an inclusive dance session works, then joined in with some dance activities. DanceSyndrome Artistic Director Sophie Tickle asked Giovanni for a stimulus for some creative dance work so he demonstrated some moves, before the team broke off into small groups and devised performance pieces based on Giovanni’s movements. They then shared their performances with friends and family at the end of the session. Dance Leaders John Burrow and Jodie Turner also got the chance to be interviewed by Giovanni on camera.
Speaking after the session, Sophie Tickle said “We’re so grateful to the Steph’s Packed Lunch team for coming to meet us to find out what DanceSyndrome is all about. We want to say a huge “thank you” to Giovanni for taking time out of his busy schedule to surprise our dancers and for joining in with us and learning more about inclusive dance with so much passion. We all left the dance space feeling energised and inspired and everyone is really excited about being on TV!”
The footage from the day was compiled for a segment on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, which show was aired on Thursday 16th June at 12:30pm. If you missed it, you can catch up on All 4.
If you’re inspired and would like to support our work, there are lots of ways you can join us:
Find a dance session to attend
Contact us to book us for an event
Donate to support our work using Just Giving or directly using the form below:
DanceSyndrome celebrates after receiving £179,483 in National Lottery funding
The DanceSyndrome team is celebrating today after being awarded £179,483 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.
DanceSyndrome is a multi-award-winning dance charity that was founded by Jen Blackwell, who happens to have Down’s syndrome. The charity was formed because Jen found it difficult to find opportunities in community dance that were accessible to people with learning disabilities. Our ethos is that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams. All DanceSyndrome sessions are disability led, with people with learning disabilities taking visible Dance Leader roles to inspire people to see what can be achieved when we all become more inclusive.
We will use this National Lottery funding to empower and make positive changes for people with learning disabilities – delivering weekly dance sessions, accredited dance leadership training and inspiring performances that demonstrate the power of inclusion. The people who participate will gain independence, confidence, better communication and social skills and see improvements in their health and wellbeing. Through a shared love of dance, people will feel connected with their communities and become less isolated.
This new National Lottery funding will enable DanceSyndrome to grow our current provision which was reduced during lockdown. As well as enabling us to reach more weekly participants, it will enable us to train more dance professionals in inclusive practices, giving them the specific skills needed to make dance sessions accessible for everyone. It will also allow us to work with students and businesses outside of the dance sector to demonstrate the value of inclusion in practice in all aspects of life, not just dance.
National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.
DanceSyndrome Managing Director, Julie Nicholson said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant 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 a leader in all activities in our society, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. We hope to build the foundations for a more inclusive society in the future, so, this funding will make a big difference to people’s lives.”
During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.
If you would like to join us in a session, you can find the full list of upcoming activities on the Sessions page of our website.
If you would like to know more about our work, please Contact Us.
Join us for our Dance-a-thon!
Thursday 9th June
10am – 5pm
At UCLan Dance Studio ME020, The Media Factory, Kirkham St, Preston PR1 1JN
Get moving, have a good time and raise money for charity!
We want to change the way that people think about learning disability. Instead of focusing on disability, we encourage people to see the skills and talents that people with learning disabilities have and this a great opportunity to come along and see us in action!
Your fundraising and donations will help us to ensure that the people we support can stay connected, stay involved and stay healthy, in addition to changing the way that people think about living life with a learning disability.
We will have a full programme of inclusive dance activities available throughout the day.
10 – 10:30am – Wake Up & Dance (available on Zoom)
10:30 – 11am – Creative Dance (available on Zoom)
11am – 12pm – Street Dance
12 – 1pm – Freestyle
1 – 3:30pm – Dance By Example Level 2 trainees delivery
3:30 – 4pm – Musicals Mash Up (available on Zoom)
4 – 4:30pm – Kitchen Dancing (available on Zoom)
4:30 – 5pm – Cool Down & Stretch (available on Zoom)
Some parts of the day are available via Zoom and you can sign up to receive the Zoom link using the form below.
Everyone is welcome and all activities are fully inclusive.
If you would like to join us, you can set up your fundraising page online using the Just Giving button or on the DanceSyndrome Facebook page.
If you need support with setting up these pages, we have easy read guides available on the following links:
Setting up a Just Giving fundraiser
Setting up a Facebook fundraiser
You can also download a printable sponsorship form.
If you have any questions or need any support, please contact info@dancesyndrome.co.uk. We hope to see you at the event on Thursday 9th June!
