CURRENT PROJECTS

If you'd like to get an idea of what we're currently working on, here are some of our recent projects and highlights.

Welsh Independent Dance - Bridgend Easter 2008 Residency

Valley and Vale is hosting a visit by Dance Bytes, Welsh Independent Dance, this Easter. This residency will be bringing the best experimental dance from emerging Welsh choreographers into Community settings.

We are hosting Dance Bytes in Bridgend at 10am to 4pm on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of April at Ogmore Comprehensive School for an exciting dance residency. On the 5th April there will be a sharing of work created work for friends and family, and we hope that pupils from Ynysawdre, Ogmore, Maesteg and Porthcawl Comprehensive Schools will be involved. Good Company and Xplosion Youth Dance Group are also hoping to attend.

This residency is open to young people in the Bridgend Borough who are interested in dance - you don’t have to be an experienced dancer, just keen to take part. This Easter Dance workshop costs £5 each for the entire 3 day project.

Contact Saydi if you would like to get involved, on (01656) 729246, or email saydi@valleyandvale.co.uk

Agree to Disagree

Over the past few months we have been working on a large-scale Community Dance Initiative, Agree to Disagree. This project is an exciting cross-valleys youth dance project involving a professional choreographer, Diccon Hogger from Base Dance in Cambridgeshire, 7 professional dance practitioners and 45 young people from across the six Valley Boroughs.

Valleys Dance is a pioneering partnership that enables participants and dance professionals based in the six southeast Local Authorities of Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, to collaborate on innovative dance projects. Valleys Dance works in partnership with Community Dance Wales and three Community Dance and Arts organisations; Dance Blast based in Torfaen, Rhondda Cynon Taff Community Arts based in Treorchy, and Valley and Vale Community Arts who are based in the Borough of Bridgend.

This project, co-ordinated by Valleys Dance, began in September 2007 and culminated with five performances in different venues across the Valleys in February and March 2008. The project explored how individuals communicate with others and how it is possible to keep one's identity within a group using a mix of contemporary, urban, physical theatre and advanced contact dance styles. Our Youth dance group Xplosion worked really hard to develop their dance skills and work on this project with their challenging and contemporary piece which they performed excellently throughout the tour.

Our group was the youngest and in many ways the least experienced in the project and they took to it very professionally and with great energy and enthusiasm. Our Dance Development Worker Saydi Williams also performed on stage with the other Valleys' Dance Facilitators as part of the dance piece which brought together a mix of dancers, styles and experience. Performances took place at Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl near Bridgend, Blackwood Miners' Institute in Caerphilly, Muni Arts Centre in Pontypridd, RCT, Blaenavon Workmen's Hall in Torfaen and at the Beaufort Theatre in Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent.

New Moves

We are coming to the end of a 5-week PESS Dance Project in Porthcawl, working with Newton, Nottage, West Park and Porthcawl Primary Schools. Each schoolteacher has been working with us as part of a mentoring program alongside the KS2 dance training with Sharon Mason.

Porthcawl Comprehensive School have also been part of this PESS project and they have expressed an interested to start a Youth Dance workshop after school in the new term. We have made valuable links with all these schools and plan to work with them in future dance projects.

The next stage of PESS is an IT project using DigiBlue software and the Head of Newton Primary School is keen to combine dance and technology.

Dancing in the New Year

The New Year has brought some new and exciting projects to our Dance Department in 2008. Dance Development Worker Paula Gray is running a new Parent and Toddler Creative Dance Workshop at the Garw Valley Leisure Centre, giving little ones the opportunity to explore movement with music and parachute games with their parent or carer.  During February, Paula and Saydi Williams (Dance Development Worker ) will begin a new five week PESS project with five schools in the Bridgend Borough - Nottage Primary, Newton Primary, Porthcawl Primary, West Park Primary and Porthcawl Comprehensive School.

The Contemporary Dance Technique class continues at Bridgend College with Saydi now working with year one BTEC Performing Arts students. This class gives the students the opportunity for professional development by expanding their experience of dance technique and building confidence as they peruse their possible future careers in the Arts. Saydi has also begun an After School Dance Club at Maesteg Comprehensive School where pupils are working on a jazz piece based on 'Chicago'.

'Xplosion' Youth Dance are continuing their creative rehearsals on Tuesday evenings at Ogmore Comprehensive School, preparing themselves for their exciting 'Valleys Dance Initiative' performance tour.  Their first perfomance will be at Porthcawl Pavilion on 22nd February 2008.

For young people who interested in dance there is a fantastic opportunity to participate in our Easter Community Performance Residency. Participants will work with two professional Dance Artists who were selected through Welsh Independent Dance's choreographic programme Dance Bytes. This residency will be held at Ogmore Comprehensive School on 3rd, 4th and 5th April. Participants will work with the dancers to create a 10-15 min piece that will be performed alongside the dancers' own choreography on 5th April.

If you would like any further information then please contact Saydi or Paula in our Dance Dept on 01656 729246 or email saydi@valleyandvale.co.uk