People Dancing

"Where there is movement, there is dance"

Mel Horwood was a hugely respected artist, choreographer, educator and filmmaker. She championed dance throughout her five-decade career, as described below in a resume of Mel’s life and work.

Mel believed anyone can dance and that everyone should have the opportunity to do so. She had a great ability to encourage and capture the simplest of movements, a blink, the tiniest of gestures or a whisper. Her personal mantra: If there is movement, there is dance. She found ways to action the power of dance to change lives to amplify her belief that dance is life, life is dance no matter how it is captured. One of her great gifts was to imbue simple movements with great feeling.

Mel relished her own learning recognising that her growth, embodied knowledge and narrative as an artist - person - was non-linear and constantly redefining by drawing on multiple experiences. Having a family didn’t stop Mel from becoming a teacher, gaining a Professional Diploma from the Laban Centre and an MA in Choreography from Middlesex University.

The MA focussed on “the symbiotic relationship between Film and Dance”. Mel went on to make a number of well-received films, including a ‘Bio-pic’, Made in Suffolk, which recognises the contribution of Scilla Dyke to Community Dance (find out more below).

What is the bursary and what can it be used for

Following her death, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, artists and unknown donors contributed to a fund in her memory.

Mel's family would like use of the funds raised to echo her beliefs/vision, and to support individuals who would wish to grow their love of dance and continue the development of her passion for dance and how it can change.

At the current time, two bursaries of up to £600 each will be awarded annually 2025-2028, to community dance artists, working in any dance style or form, to support their professional development by participation in People Dancing’s professional development and training programme. This includes: workshop fees and associated travel, accommodation and access costs for the annual Summer Intensive (22-24 July 2025), fees for online courses, and a stipend of £75 per day for attendance at in-person workshops.

Each year there will be a different priority. In 2025, applications are sought from dancers, teaching artists and community practitioners based in or mainly working in the East of England (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk).

How to Apply

The application process for a bursary is not intended to be overly time consuming. Complete an online form or record a short video or sound file of up to seven minutes to let us know:

What you would like to use the bursary for, and what you will gain from this experience
A little more about your experience as a dance artist, including with film and multimedia if applicable
The costs of your proposed activity
Details of a referee - someone willing to provide a short statement about you and your work
Your contact details, so we can get in touch.

Applications are open until 12 noon on Monday 9 June 2025. Eligible applications will be considered by a small panel. We intend to notify applicants by Friday 27 June.

Bursary holders will be asked at the end of their activity to write or record a short blog-style piece of approx. 800 words or a similar length recording, reflecting on their learning through the bursary. The plan is that blogs will be published - writing support will be offered! - for which People Dancing will make a separate payment of £75.

Apply here via an online form

If you are submitting an application in video or audio format please email info@communitydance.org.uk and include a link to a file download service such as WeTransfer to transmit your file to us. Please do not attempt to email large files.

Who was Mel Horwood?

Mel Horwood was a hugely respected artist, choreographer, educator and filmmaker. She championed dance throughout her five decade career.

“When I think about the foundations of community dance, I know that Mel is one of the quiet giants upon whose shoulders we now build. There was no fuss or ego with Mel, just an absolute conviction and embodied knowledge that dance, dancing and the arts are an elemental part of a life lived well… she gave so generously her knowledge and skills as a dancer, leader, film maker, communicator, colleague, friend, artist – to witness her ethical approach to dancing in action was an honour.”
Chris Stenton, Chief Executive, People Dancing

Early Career

Mel’s early training in classical ballet with Stella Mann combined with her expressive qualities as a performer found a home at the Grand Opera Theatre in Gothenburg. Rich in creative excellence and encouraging strong female voices, it became known for virtuoso world premieres and revivals of acclaimed works.

Returning to England she joined “Dance in Education” - a touring company based in London, enthusing children of all ages with the characterisations of her roles.

Marriage and family

Her marriage in 1971 and ensuing family brought her professional career to a close but her passion for dance remained and found expression in developing classes in village halls, teaching dance at the progressive Summerhill School in Leiston (Suffolk) and movement classes for Adult Education. It was this which, later, gave her access to teacher training.

Mel took advantage of the opportunities offered by Suffolk Dance (DanceEast) working with founder-director Scilla Dyke whose vision included training and development for Community Dance Leaders provided by the Laban Guild.She learned so much and so enjoyed her learning she became manager of the second Stage 1 course, later joining the Training Committee. Her interest in Rudolph Laban’s theories of movement through this involvement led to attendance at the Laban Centre in London to study for a Professional Diploma.

Mel became a Registered Graduate teacher working in Secondary and Further Education, where she spent 15 years teaching Dance, Creative Arts and Performance studies becoming Examiner of A Level for the OCR Board. At the same time, as a Community Dance Practitioner she led youth dance groups and worked in Special Needs contexts in Suffolk.

The experience at the Laban Institute and her involvement with the Laban Guild left Mel with an appetite for further learning. She decided she wanted to further her “Dance Studies” and enrolled at Middlesex University, making a weekly car journey from Suffolk, to study. In 2006 she gained her MA in Choreography.

Dance and Film

Mel’s studies helped her realise that she could “combine my interest in film and in dance working towards a symbiotic relationship between the film and the dance”. For her first films Mel used her Dad’s camcorder. He had been a Documentary Film maker since the 1930’s. With funding she bought her own resources and went on to film, choreograph and direct another 12 films.

Mel enjoyed exploring the ever-changing East Anglian landscape as a stimulus for dance, generating movement ideas with people of all ages, working with people from the community.

But she also collaborated with local artists and musicians to create her pieces and in 2016 called on Walli Meier’s knowledge of Laban movement as mentor for her film Nature Study, a study of translating the dances of nature into the human body. The film includes a short interview with Walli on her approach to bringing out the dynamics in the dancer involved.

Made in Suffolk

Mel enjoyed filming the interview with Walli so much that it gave her the idea of making a documentary focusing on Scilla Dyke, who was a really important figure in her own dance career development. It celebrated Scilla Dyke’s contribution to the development of dance in Suffolk and was first shown at the home of DanceEast, Jerwood Dance House.

Moving Arts East

Mel founded and organised Moving Arts East which provided an annual platform for choreographers and dance related artists across East Anglia to explore new ideas, including the use of technology to make new work. There were no bars to participation. All ages, and abilities presented their work: ages ranged from eight months to 80 years; student and school groups, Alzheimers and Parkinson's dance groups, disabled dancers - everyone was welcome. A true celebration of her belief that we all have dance within us.

Mel’s Practice

Her approach is best described in her own words:

“When taking a dance workshop I introduce a simple language of movement so that the participants have material that they can develop for themselves if they wish. I provide a structure to the session, which includes time for creative work either individually or with others. The focus is on process but if the participants wish to share their responses then there is opportunity for that.

My interest is in exploring film as a choreographic tool with dance. I really enjoy working with what comes up when you take movement outside of the theatre space. I find it exciting to draw on the artistic and creative skills of artists from other art forms. My technological skills are very basic but I struggle on as it is important to have control of the film editing which is so much part of the final product”.

Legacy

Mel’s legacy is more than just her films, but it is from those that we see the hallmarks of her approach:

The ability to enable the most reluctant or unconfident person to be encouraged to move and through movement become dancers
The ability to take simple movements and enable participants to imbue them with a depth of emotion
The ability to make dance fun, as well as seriously emotional
The ability to ensure all participants enjoyed themselves
The ability to enthuse others and share in her over-riding passion - the love of dance.

Mel’s films and how to access them

YouTube.com/@MelHorwoodDance

Three films to do with Mel’s MA submissions:

Nine films/video clips:

Donate to support continuation of the bursary

If you would like to make a donation to the Mel Horwood Bursary for Community Dance Artists to help it continue in the future, you can do so online using PayPal donate using the link below. Thank you.

The Mel Horwood Bursary for Community Dance Artists is managed on behalf of Mel's family and friends by Foundation for Community Dance (trading as People Dancing).