Education LoopEd
LoopEd Projects
CAT Satellite Scheme
High quality dance training for talented young dancers.
We are running a dance project in partnership with LABAN's Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) and the Shepway Find Your Talent programme. The CAT is an innovative scheme offering young people with exceptional talent and potential the opportunity to access high quality dance training.
The partnership scheme offers sucessful applicants the opportunity to participate in:
- A free weekly 1 and a half hour Contemporary Technique class at either Folkestone or Chatham in Kent.
- Visits to Laban and The Place for workshops, yours, and open days
- Theatre visits
- Performance opportunities
We auditioned for places in November 2009 and the classes are currently running.
Education Consultancy
Dance and Health
Loop’s specialist trained team of professional dancers offer a variety of Dance and Health packages ranging from one-off workshops to in-depth fitness testing and training projects, nutrition and anatomy.
Dance 4 Your Life
Tuesday 1st December 2009 saw the launch of the finding for the Dance 4 Your Life project funded by NKLAAP (North Kent Local Authority Arts Partnership) and in partnership with LABAN. Three of Loop's company members were involved as practitioners on this project and Nina Atkinson Loop’s Artistic Director was employed at the lead artist. The project showed positive impacts on young people's health particularly upper body strength (6% increase) and Aerobic Capacity (10.5% increase) as well as statistically significant increase in self esteem by participating in the dance classes, indicating that the young peoples general sense of self-worth was improved by participating. We are currently in conversations with NKLAAP and LABAN with regards to providing a legacy for this work and further research into dance and health.
Ashford Healthy
In September we started delivery of the year long Ashford Healthy project working with children and parents in the borough of Ashford, Kent in two discrete strands.
Strand One - Weekly classes with children from Phoenix Primary school have started with a bang, Loop dance artist Kate Scott firstly work with year 5 children who are now acting as peer to peer mentors as Kate moves to work with the younger children. Kate is also engaging in a Inset training day for teachers in the school and It is hoped that the year 5 children will continue the energy of the project after the year is finished alongside the trained teachers.
Strand Two - Weekly classes in partnership with Sure Start Ashford have been taking place with parents/careers and children at a variety of their satellite stations across the borough. The fun creative sessions not only encourage dance activity during the session but also support parents wanting to dance with their children at home. In addition to this advice is available on healthy balanced diets. It is hoped that some of these children will feed into Phoenix Primary School with the benefit of having already participated in dance.
All children are tested pre and post project and findings will be reported to the funders at the end of the year.
Dance and Numeracy
Loop’s previous dance and numeracy workshops focus on how to generate, develop and structure movement using clear links to the Key Stage 2 Numeracy Objectives. The ideas explored in the practical sessions build on areas already covered in the classroom and are reinforced in numeracy lessons after the dance session to help gain a greater understanding of the topics.
In 2007 Loop worked with Kent Schools Advisory Service (ASK)and Creative Partnerships Kent to deliver the successful Dance & Numeracy project ‘Space’ the project used visual art and film and the theme of Space, it also introduced links to other subjects in the curriculum such as Science and Geography:
SPACE! (October - November 2007)
Working with year 5 children from three primary schools in East Kent to develop pupils' numeracy skills through dance. A collaboration with Animate Community Arts and Curious Research & Film.
Commissioned by Creative Partnerships Kent and Kent Schools Advisory Service (ASK).
Dance and Literacy
The aim of these projects is to improve and extend the literacy and dance/movement skills of primary and secondary school students, encouraging them to engage positively with words and language by thinking on their feet and exploring text physically, as well as helping to develop their confidence and imagination. Opportunities are built in for teachers to further develop this work in literacy lessons and across the curriculum including other subjects such as History and Geography.
“The project exceeded my expectations… the social and expressive elements also had a huge impact. As a team we thoroughly embraced the project” (Miers Court Primary School teacher)
Loop Dance Company have collaborated with Medway Council Arts Team and Medway Council Literacy Advisory Panel to deliver three successful dance and literacy projects:
The Adventures of Abdi (January – March 2007)
Exploring The Adventures of Abdi by Madonna through dance, with children from three primary schools in Medway.
Funded by Medway Council and the Ernest Cook Trust.
War Poetry (January – March 2006)
A dance and war poetry project engaging young men aged 13 and 14 at New Brompton College.
Funded by Medway Council.
The Jabberwocky (January – March 2005)
Studying Lewis Carol’s poem through dance, with children aged from three primary schools in Medway.
Funded by Medway Council.
Dance and Disability
LoopEd Youth Dance Company residency at Bradfields School (ongoing)
Every Monday Loop is working with disabled young people at Bradfields School in Chatham.
This project is funded by the Big Lottery.
LoopEd Youth Dance Company residency at Gatland Education (ongoing)
Pupils from Gatland Education PRU come to the Brook Theatre, Loop Dance Company's base, every Friday, to work with the company.
This project is funded by the Redhill Trust
You Dance (May – July 2007)
Dance performance projects with visually and hearing impaired young people at the Royal School for Deaf Children (Margate) and Dorton House School (Sevenoaks).
Funded by Kent County Council.
Big Moves (ongoing)
The Friday Dancers, now Big Moves, formed in 2004 from a project with disabled adults living in Medway and continued in 2009 with funding from Awards for All and Chatham Maritime Trust.
For more details on other LoopEd activities, including our youth dance programmes, workshops for the community and the professional development programme, please visit LoopEd Youth Dance Company, Professional Development and Community Classes, or contact us.
Photography by Laura Thomas