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EVERYBODY DANCEOur Man in the Moone castInternational Integrated Dance Company


EVERYBODY DANCE aims to inspire, explore and create great dance experiences with disabled and non-disabled people of all ages in unexpected spaces








SPRING 2024 EVENTS


We're hosting inter-generational Tea Dances at The Courtyard in Hereford and The Cube in Malvern.


Tea Party


And we're running workshops for young people on the autistic spectrum:


Unique yoga and aerial fitness for young people with autism

Please join us by contacting the venues.

Happy New Year - with lots of movement!




SONS AND MUMS


We loved our latest project with men who identify as autistic and their mums. Led by the fabulous Jo Fong and with the creative support of Jemima Morgan we moved, talked, sang, wrote, drew and ate lunch together, leading up to a sold-out, beautiful performance.

performance
drawing together
Drawing by Fran Martin

Sons and Mums is supported by The Community Lottery Fund and The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund.



GREAT OUTDOORS

Go Outdoors feet and aerial rig

GREAT OUTDOORS was our big summer project that took place throughout June and July 2022 at Longlands Farm.
We took ‘birds’ as our general theme for the project and used a series of short performance pieces to encourage and reassure people to have a go on the ropes. Our flight attendants were Rachel Freeman, Chez Dunford, Jess Allen, Grainne Young-Monaghan, and Abbi Saunders, who brought a host of skills and experience, warmth, and support to everyone they met. Other members of the GO dream team were Rebecca Farkas and Dave Provis who helped us shout a little louder about the project.

Over 1,100 local people visited for day-long (re-)treats with aerial dance, games, nature trails, land art, storytelling, music, and picnics. Travel subsidies proved invaluable for some and we were delighted to welcome groups from all over Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

GREAT OUTDOORS also included a series of training sessions in Signalong, disability equality, working with visually impaired, dementia and creativity, and an aerial masterclass weekend; 76 local professionals attended these sessions.

The project would not have been possible without the help of our 70 volunteers who helped put the rig up and take it down over the six weeks.

Also HUGE thanks to all our funders: it simply would not happen without their support.

“On the walk back I told student that I was proud of them; they responded, “I’m proud of me too, I’m doing things I wouldn’t normally do”.

“We enjoyed the dancing and flying like a bird. The walk in the woods was amazing we could see lots of nature. We would love to come back soon.”

“I felt free and relaxed and had no worries”




funders


THE WAY I SEE IT

albert bannut

"The Way I See It" explores, captures, and shares the different ways people living with dementia perceive the world. It records a multi-sensory experience of the environment, the feelings, and imaginings that it excites. Taking place at National Trust site Croft Castle, members of the Leominster Meeting Centre are invited to ‘walk, sit and talk’ in the grounds. These responsive audio-descriptions will be played back to people in the same locations.



The project was conceived and is led by Rachel Freeman and is part of the Heritage Pathfinders project which continues in 2022.

For more details and some QR cards to try, please see our dedicated page.

 




OUR MAN IN THE MOONE

*ANIMATION*

This dazzling animation is created from pictures and sounds collected during EVERYBODY DANCE community workshops in Herefordshire: the wonderful people involved in its making are credited at the end.




We were very excited to announce in July that the book of the project had now been printed and we have distributed it to all the people who have been involved in the project. If you're not one of those people, please visit this page on our blog to read it.
Beautiful hard copies can also be bought from Whitbourne Village Shop at £5 each.




Our Man in the Moone

Our Man in the Moone is a three-year arts, education and community project for people living in North Herefordshire, started in July 2018 and continuing until July 2020
The writer of the first - and most extraordinary - work of science fiction published in 1638, Bishop Francis Godwin, lived in the village that EVERYBODY DANCE is based in and we’re exploring, developing and celebrating this in a host of ways with many local people contributing.
The project began in Whitbourne with a book club, schools workshops, archive visits, a rewriting of the story, storytelling, a performance with stilt walking, and aerial dance. An Our Man in the Moone book of creative responses to the work has just been published and an exhibition of images is currently in production.

Our Man in the Moone cast

Photo by Paul Lack

Spurred on by the successes in Whitbourne, the project would now have been on tour to Leominster and Bromyard were it not for the intervention of Covid-19...

HCA photo
Drawings for animation by Georgia Anstey

Up to March 2020 we had worked and spoken with many people in Leominster and Bromyard and had a diary full of exciting events for Our Man in the Moone. The days disappeared under lockdown and we're delighted to announce that our plans have been refreshed and revived. In the spring 2021 the project will re-emerge with aerial dance, storytelling, history talks, performances with local groups, organisations, schools and individuals in a celebration of community and a retelling of this adventurous tale from the 17th century.
We are skilled at improvisation and we are sure that plans will need to adapt to comply with whatever guidelines are relevant in the moment. This will probably mean working with much smaller groups and we are asking participants to adapt with us. One thing we are certain of - together we can learn lots of new skills, have masses of creative fun and discover new friends and connections.
Everyone is invited to get involved so please do get in touch with us.

Follow Our Man in the Moone here

Supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Elmley Foundation, Herefordshire Community Foundation, Whitbourne Village Shop Fund, Susan Bulmer, Herefordshire a Great Place, Arts Council England, Leominster Town Council, Bromyard & Winslow Town Council, GVC, Philip Bates Trust, Lottery Community Fund.

 


LET’S DANCE

hands young and old


Photo by Dave Provis

After the success of our ongoing work in Herefordshire we’re extending and developing our Tea Dance project into Worcestershire. Bringing young people together with elders, those living with dementia, their family, friends and carers. Responding to COVID-19 guidlines, the work takes place in small bubbles of up to five people including one young person aged 10 to 20 years. Please join us in helping to make Worcester a more dementia-friendly city.

Let’s Dance is led by EVERYBODY DANCE in collaboration with The Swan Theatre.

 





VERTICAL DANCE FORUM

The Vertical Dance Forum is a network of 7 vertical dance companies working in Europe and Canada. In 2019 Rachel was invited to mentor their Alternative perspectives/Accessible Aerial week which brought VDF choreographers together with D/deaf and disabled artists. "The whole team were very open-minded, but it is difficult to imagine this meeting without the support of Rachel as mentor. Through her experience, sensitivity and sincere generosity, she has been able to accompany us and guide us in our strengths and weaknesses." "I really appreciated Rachel’s personality and valuable experience. Her interventions were very gentle, and she was a unifier and focal point that helped keep the flow of the research on track and comprehensive and everyone feeling fulfilled."

Click here for video

Film, photography and edit Mark Morreau

With thanks to the Vertical Dance Forum, Gravity & Levity for making me so welcome and teaching me much.

RF





AERIAL YOGA

aerial yoga

Rachel has practised yoga for over 35 years and has combined it with her experience and expertise in aerial dance to teach Vayu Aerial Yoga.

It is a practice that was developed to create space mentally and physically, by opening up the body through various postures, using a custom designed yoga hammock.

Rachel is keen to develop ways that Vayu can be made accessible ?for all abilities and ages.
To? help with this development of accessible classes, to join a class or find out more, please visit Rachel Freeman Vayu Aerial Yoga here and on Facebook.





CREATIVE AGEING

Rachel has been leading dance and movement sessions for people with dementia and this little video by Alice Pengelly shows some of the work done under the umbrella of the Courtyard in Hereford.

https://youtu.be/9t-TgMC04TQ




EVALUATION TOOL KIT

Our new Tool Kit for evaluation is available for you to adapt and use for your own projects. We would like to work with you on its development so please let us know how you get on so that we can develop it further.

Find out more here.





For further details on anything here, please contact us.           





Heritage fund logo    Herefordshire Community Foundation    worcs-logo    Lady Neville    

combined-logos   Leominster Town Council Bromyard TC      GVC

Lottery funded logo iWill     Family Arts Campaign