More than 200 dancers will perform at a dance celebration next week. Dance Active 2013 takes place at Hove Town Hall on Sunday 1 December with 14 different groups from across the city joining together for an evening of dance.
The event is being organised by Brighton & Hove City Council’s Active for Life team. The first ever Dance Active took place last December and immediately became a fixture in the city’s dance calendar. The 2013 event has more performers than last year and will see Active for Life Young Leaders presented with awards for their work in encouraging dance.
Active for Life’s Julie Stacey is the event co-ordinator, she said: “Dance is experiencing a surge in popularity. Active for Life has a history of delivering quality dance sessions and adapting to emerging trends. Dance Active is one of our project highlights and all the dancers are excited about performing at Hove Town Hall.”
The line-up includes displays of streetdance, jazz, hip hop and Flamenco. Performing for the first time will be the Golden Oldies, a group of 20 women who meet each week for a movement and dance class in Moulsecoomb. The group are all aged from 70 to 90 years old.
Win Herring, aged 86, from the Golden Oldies, said: “We love our weekly dance sessions as they keep us nimble and it gets us out of the house. We’re really looking forward to Dance Active. It’s just a bit of fun but hopefully we will get some new recruits too!”
The aim of the evening is to give the performers a chance to demonstrate their skills to family and friends as well as to encourage people to take up different types of dance. On the night, all performers will be offered the chance to sign up for free dance taster sessions being offered by local dance groups. The aim is to recruit dancers to be part of and develop an original performance for the dance stage at the TAKEPART sport event on 21 June 2014.
Cllr Bill Randall is attending the event and presenting awards to the young dance leaders. Cllr Randall said: “Dance Active links the dance communities of the city together and gives everyone a chance to celebrate their successes. The important role of professionals and volunteers in promoting dance in Brighton & Hove can not be underestimated. Their enthusiasm and drive creates fantastic events like this one and the new dance venture being arranged for TAKEPART in 2014.”
More information
- The Dance Active 2013 offers the performers a chance to show family and friends what they have achieved in their dance training. It is an invite only event without ticket sales to the general public
- All participating groups will be invited to perform on the dance stage at the launch event of Brighton & Hove’s annual TAKEPART Festival of Sport in 2014. This gives Dance Active performers the opportunity to perform at two major city-wide events
- The expanding Dance Active For Life programme delivers a variety of sessions and workshops to Brighton and Hove residents
- More information about Active for Life