People Dancing

Image: NYB All In! Company in class. Photo: Jules Renahan.

Tuesday 21 July 2026, with National Youth Ballet

Are you a contemporary dance practitioner wanting to widen your skills and introduce ballet to a group for the first time? Or are you seeking to find creative new ways to include physically disabled dancers, learning disabled dancers and neurodivergent dancers into your classes?

Then this workshop is for you!

This one-day workshop provides an opportunity to experience an NYB All In! inclusive ballet class and explore creative approaches to the translation of balletic movements.

Led by NYB Creative Director Jo Meredith and choreographers Grace Thompson and Amy Groves, this workshop will share inclusive approaches to intensive ballet training, with top tips for teachers to open up access in the studio and a chance to ask questions and learn more about the 'NYB All In!'

There will also be a panel discussion involving the NYB All In! team and Parable Dance's, Artistic Director and founder Natasha Britton. The day will culminate in time for reflections, next steps and a chance to formulate individual actions.

By attending this workshop, you will gain:

An understanding of how to approach ballet teaching in a more inclusive way
Top tips to make your ballet classes more accessible
An experience of movement translation in ballet
A chance to reflect and share new ideas with other practitioners
An opportunity to learn from dance artists with a lived experience of visible and invisible impairments and conditions.

The workshop will be open and accessible to all, from early career to experienced dance artists. Workshop timing: 10.00am-5.30pm.

Prices and Application Process

One Day Early Bird Prices - until 14 May

People Dancing Members: £100
Standard Price: £135

One Day Prices - from 15 May

People Dancing Members: £115
Standard Price: £155

How to Apply

Choose which workshop you would like to attend each day and complete the online application form. At this stage, a deposit of £35 per workshop is required to secure your place
Our Programme Team will read your application and will be in touch with you within 7 working days
Following approval of your application, a payment link to settle the balance will be sent to you. The balance is due before 21 June 2026 and payment confirms your place. The deposit is non-refundable
If, for any reason, your application is unsuccessful your deposit will be refunded.

> Chose your workshops and apply here

About Jo Meredith

Jo is Creative Director of National Youth Ballet. For National Youth Ballet she established and leads on NYB All In! a programme designed to make ballet experiences more accessible for dancers with disabilities. In addition, she developed and expanded the company’s Beyond Ballet® programme supporting early career creative artists. Her work in dance is inspired by seven years of delivering inclusive dance classes at the Vale SEND school in Tottenham for Step Into Dance, where in addition to her regular class SID classes she established, in collaboration with the school, classes for primary school students, a class for PMLD students and a young leaders course in collaboration with the local sixth form college.

Jo wrote and currently delivers the Transitioning into a Portfolio Career unit designed for the third year BA students at London Contemporary Dance School, she wrote the Professional Development module for London Studio Centre’s MA in Dance Performance course and she is the Creative Director of ENB Youth Connect.

Jo’s portfolio career includes movement direction, dance teaching and facilitating and mentoring young artists. Her movement direction work has taken her to theatres including The Metropolitan Opera, New York, Lyric Opera, Chicago, Teatro Alla Scala, Milan, Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Teatro Real, Madrid and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Image credit: Mikah Smilie.

About Grace Thompson

I am a disabled, neurodivergent inclusive facilitator, consultant, and artist whose work focuses on creating culture change around attitudes towards disabled people. Through Butterfly Hope, my platform for creative advocacy, I empower others to engage in advocacy at all levels — from personal to systemic.

My practice explores the intersections of disability, identity, and access, using access not just as a requirement but as a creative tool. I am currently a Beyond Ballet® Artist with the National Youth Ballet and have collaborated with a wide range of organisations to champion inclusive practice.

In all areas of my work, inclusion is not an add-on but deeply embedded — shaping how I create, teach, and lead. My work aims to open space for those often excluded and to challenge who gets to be seen, heard, and valued in the arts and in society.

Image credit: Jules Renahan.

About Amy Groves

Since graduating from the BA Modern Ballet course at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, after training at London Contemporary Dance School and White Lodge, The Royal Ballet Lower School, performance experience includes touring the UK in the internationally renowned ‘5 Soldiers’, Ballet Cymru, and BalletFolk Company. Currently dance teacher at Linwood SEND schools, developing and delivering an innovative dance curriculum, having previously been a lead Dance Artist at Remix inclusive dance company.

Highlights included an inclusive adaptation of ‘Cinderella’ for Origins Festival on a cast of 28 disabled dancers, and performances at Inside Out International Outdoor Festival.

Other choreographic commissions include National Youth Ballet’s ‘Evolving Visions’, performed at Sadlers Wells Theatre, Global COP-26 Conference’s ETCH festival, and National Dance Company Wales LAUNCH.

Image credit: Andy Ross

About Natasha Britton

Natasha Britton BCA is the Founder and Artistic Director of Parable Dance, a community interest company providing inclusive dance classes in the South East and delivering training, mentoring, and consultancy worldwide.

She has worked as a freelance inclusive dance practitioner, project manager, and education consultant for over 25 years. Natasha specialises in delivering high-quality dance classes for people with special educational needs and disabilities, and in designing and delivering training and mentoring to develop inclusive practice in others.

She was awarded a British Citizens Award in 2022 for her contribution to the arts and a UK Coaching Award in 2025 for her work in inclusive dance teacher training.

Image credit: Blue Rive Photography

Further information

Return to People Dancing's Summer Programme main page and to book other workshops