Telford Dance Festival 2010 - 9-13 February

Young People at the centre of the Festival

The festival encourages young people to take an active role in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the event. With support from professionals 63 young people aged between 11-18 years gained invaluable work experience.

Performing

151 primary age pupils, 297 secondary students and 131 college students performed at the festival, bringing together 32 school and community groups from across Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire.  Dancing on the same bill as professional dancers gives the young people real encouragement and raises their aspirations.

Marketing

Young people at Jigsaw school have been working with a group of artistic & creative professionals to explore different ways of learning. Using photography, film and animation they produced a very high quality multi media advertising campaign to promote the festival.

Event Management

A group of local young people worked with a professional event management company to help plan and manage all aspects of the event. Working on everything from stage management to merchandising provided an excellent real life experience and an insight into career opportunities.

Making Choreographers

Through the ‘Making Choreographers’ project, young people are able to take their dance skills to the next level. Local young dancers created content for the festival and produced ‘Imagine If…” an original dance piece for professional dancers.

Sustainability

After two successful years the event is now embedded in our strategic plan and the annual cultural calendar. We are beginning to attract new strategic partners, advertisers and potential sponsors and already have applications to take part in next year’s festival from schools and community groups. We have established a small revenue stream through merchandising, photography and video sales and we intend to develop these opportunities to ensure the event becomes sustainable by its fifth year.

For further information contact:

Julie Jones - Creative Arts Manager on:
Tel: 01952 380985
E-mail: Julie.jones2@telford.gov.uk