People Dancing

Curriculum link: PHSE KS1-3

Physically Being Me explores the positive journeys and thoughts of six disabled people who dance from their point of view. This film was created with the Community Film Unit and was funded through the award winning Speak Up Film Fund.

Curriculum link: PSHE KS1-3

People Dancing in partnership with Dance4 have created this short film which features young disabled dancer Beth Gardiner. Throughout the film we hear from Beth herself about her passion for dance, her progression and development from school through to being on the Centre for Advance Training programme, plus her ambitions for the future. This film supports the changing perceptions report commissioned by Dance4 and aims to highlight young disabled dancers’ progression routes. This beautifully made and compassionate film tells Beth’s story in her own words.

Curriculum link: PSHE KS1-3

In the film Adaption, dancers Laura Dajao and Mickael Marso Riviere discuss dance within the hip hop culture, and highlight how better awareness around access can ensure inclusivity. Dancing and adapting movement together, they create a beautifully inspiring and engaging duet. 

This film has been made in partnership with the MS Society.

In this section you can access links to articles written by professional dance teachers who share with us their teaching practice and ideas for working with children and young people.

 What happens when we move and play together with our infants? (EYFS)

Movement practitioner, educator, trainer and writer Jasmine Pasch describes her approach to working creatively with infants and their families, and the fundamental role of movement in the early years of development

Bhangra - the art of education (PSHE)
Anoop Watts, Dance Practitioner and Dance Writer, describes using Bhangra as a tool for building cultural awareness and calls for a strategic approach to connect leaders of dances of different cultures with social and cultural agendas within schools

Discovery (PSHE)
Wolfgang Stange, Founder, Director and Principal Choreographer, AMICI Dance Theatre Company has for  36 years been unafraid to challenge conventional attitudes to disability and the arts. By drawing on powerful themes, productions are inclusive of disabled and non-disabled artists and performers to reveal the strength, commitment and individuality of each performer. Here we discover  the building blocks of his integrated teaching and workshop process

Stellarium (Science KS3-4)
Communicating contemporary astrophysics via contemporary dance? Deb Ashby, Director of Dance Manchester tells us how

Sharing dances within a developmental approach to curriculum (General)
Yael Owen-Mckenna, dance practitioner and Joint Head of Service at Coventry Performing Arts Service and Music Education Hub, reflects upon the development of a programme of creative dance and Sherborne Developmental Movement for Special Schools across Coventry

Ctrl.Alt.Shift (PSHE KS3-4)
Fiona Ross on Sadler's Wells education team with Ctrl.Alt.Shift on a project about sex education and the political engagement of young people

We all know that dance is good for you, but can we prove it? (PSHE KS3-4)
Lucy Frazer from Hampshire Dance, Emma Redding and Edel Quin at Laban describe their research into the health benefits for young people participating in dance

If you are interested in developing your dance teaching practice, you might be interested in the following online learning programmes.

Preparing for Safer Dance Practice - This online course will give any dance leader the knowledge they need to successfully integrate and manage health and safety principles

Risk Assessment Online Learning - This short online course, developed by People Dancing, aims to help dancers and dance practitioners understand their legal responsibilities in relation to health and safety at work and provides guidance on what to do in the event that an incident takes place in relation to their class, rehearsal or general practice.