Animated began life in 1986 as the newsletter of the National Association of Dance and Mime Animateurs (NADMA). Produced on a
typewriter, it was photocopied and distributed to NADMA members and begin to establish itself as a source of information and support for community dance artists. In 1989, NADMA was re-launched as the Community Dance and Mime Foundation (CDMF) and Animated began a transition to the current magazine format.
The first ‘properly printed’ issue was published in Autumn 1989 - the black and white picture on the far left of the top row of pictures below. It features the gates of the ‘Old Hall’ building of Leicester Polytechnic’s Scraptoft Campus (now De Montfort University), where CDMF was then based. Animated was then published quarterly up until Spring 2008 when it then became published three times per year. The images below show the magazine covers from 1989 to 2001 - covers from 2001 to the present day can be viewed here.
Between 1992 and 2002 Animated had a dedicated Editor: Richard Ings (1992 - 1995), Kari O’Nions (1995 - 1996) and more recently Dr Scilla Dyke MBE (1996 - 2002). In 1995, to coincide with the organisation’s change of remit and name to Foundation for Community Dance, Animated’s focus changed, with more in-depth features about specific issues and a wide range of commissioned articles. It was, and still is, written by dance artists and other dance professionals and reflects community dance culture in the UK and beyond, encouraging debate and dialogue about current issues and community dance practice.
In 2002 we began the process of creating a Digital Library of articles previously published in our magazine Animated, our aim being to make this work widely available and accessible through our website. Our unique library is the largest and most comprehensive library of its kind and it is growing all the time.
Animated is now produced by different members of People Dancing’s staff team in collaboration with Countrywide Publications and is usually published twice per year.