Just announced – group booking discount for five or more people! Book five or more tickets and get each day ticket for just £10 per person. Email info@dancecity.co.uk to book. Please note group bookings are not available via the website.

There is no such thing as ‘too old’ to dance. In recognition of this belief, Dance City is hosting Inspire Festival – a weekend dedicated to dance and ageing. The festival looks to celebrate the versatility of dance and its timeless importance in our lives. With a range of sessions including workshops, performances and talks, Inspire Festival aims to remind a generation of dancers of the lifelong joys of dance. Whether you have never danced before, or are a seasoned performer, Inspire Festival is a unique opportunity to explore movement and creativity with others. Dance has no upper age limit – it welcomes all and Dance City is proud to support all dancers in discovering their passion.

Taking place at Dance City, Newcastle, an inspiring line up of speakers, dancers and workshops has been assembled and there is a huge range of content on offer by and for people aged 55 and over.

Dance City seeks to empower its dancers by promoting and developing dance with over 55’s. Look out for an open rehearsal and performance with Boundless, Dance City‘s 55+ dance company. Boundless provides a unique opportunity for mature dancers in the region to develop their contemporary dance and performance skills as well as technical ability. The company work with talented Dance City teachers as well as local guest choreographers to create original work for digital and in person performance opportunities.

Carolyn George, member of Boundless, says:

I am nearly 71 now, but loving to dance does not end just because you are older. I cannot imagine my life without dance. Being a member of Boundless is a wonderful bonus; it has given me an opportunity, to create and to perform with like-minded people.

Previous Dance City 55+ class attendees have said:

“I have a new lease of life. Many mature people become isolated and invisible in their communities. Dance and Music are great for well being”

“I never imagined that, having no prior dance experience, I would get so ‘hooked’ on learning and practising dance at the age of 55+.”

Saturday Inspire Festival activities include creative workshops with BalleLORENT’s Caroline Reece, the chance to try Aerial, and Making Choreography with Tim Rubidge. There will be an open rehearsal and performance by Dance City’s 55+ Company, Boundless. Septuagenarian Dora Frankel will present her award-winning screen dance film Touch The Beast, and there will be an opportunity for intergenerational dancing with Helen Kumar.

Sunday Inspire Festival activities include a Voguing workshop with the very fierce Darren Pritchard, Fitsteps and Ballroom with Caroline Banks, Roncametrics with Gill Roncarelli, and grandparent-child dance with Helen Kumar. We are also delighted that Sir Richard Alston will be talking about his illustrious career in dance, and presenting a new work made on his colleague Martin Lawrance, who is still professionally dancing at 49 years.

Pictured: Gill Gray – Boundless

How to get involved

You can book your tickets via the Dance City website, or by clicking the headers below:

Saturday Day Ticket £25
Purchasing a Saturday Inspire Festival Day Ticket will enable you to book onto any of the Saturday events below at no extra charge. You will be sent information on how to do this once you have purchased your ticket.

Sunday Day Ticket £20
Purchasing a Sunday Inspire Festival Day Ticket will enable you to book onto any of the Sunday events at no extra charge. You will be sent information on how to do this once you have purchased your ticket.

Weekend tickets are £35
Simply add both Saturday and Sunday tickets to your basket and the discount will be automatically applied. You will then be able to book onto all Inspire Festival events at no extra charge.

Dance City looks forward to welcoming you to this inspiring weekend, dedicated to dance.

Itinerary

At-a-glance timetable

Click the timetable to enlarge

Saturday

11am – 12pm – Welcome, warm-ups and introductions with the day’s Artists and Practitioners

55+ Yoga Flow Workshops with Debbi Purtill
Yoga Workshop 1 – Yoga 12.30-1.10pm
Yoga Workshop 2 – Yoga – 1.30-2.10pm
Yoga Workshop 3 – Yoga 3.30-4.10pm

Dance Workshops with Caroline Reece
Caroline Reece Ballet Workshop – 1.30 – 2.10pm
Caroline Reece Contemporary Dance Workshop – 3.30 – 4.10pm

About

Caroline Reece is 57. Since completing her training at The Urdang Academy & The Laban Centre, Caroline went on to teach & perform with Nexus Dance Company for six years with repertoire including work by David Massingham, Janet Smith, Emlyn Claid and Nigel Charnock. She then performed with Emma Diamond, Claire Russ, Felix Ruckert, Gary Clarke & in Dance For Camera projects with Wendy Houstoun & Nigel Charnock before joining balletLORENT. Caroline has also performed in Peter Pan at Northern Stage directed by Erica Whyman and two previous Northern Stage productions directed by Alan Lydiard, The Black Eyed Roses and a tour of Animal Farm. Caroline has taught at Newcastle College, Northumbria University, The Urdang Academy, the CAT at Dance City , Billy London LTD, was Rehearsal Director for Verve at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and now teaches Dance to People with Parkinson’s. Caroline has performed in most of balletLORENT’s productions since 1996.

Caroline says: “I am interested in why some women feel invisible later in life…when does this start happening and is it to do with the Menopause and our identity as women? Can these feelings be translated into movement and shared? Movement is a way of communicating and can often reveal more subtle nuances of our hidden feelings and complex emotional responses. Sometimes we can feel overlooked and undervalued in what is primarily a shared experience, after all, everyone will age. Where do these ideas about ageing come from that have become part of our culture? This is what I am thinking about at the moment.”

Aerial Workshops with Lynn Campbell and Jane Park

Lynn Campbell Aerial Workshop 1 – 12.30-1.10pm
Lynn Campbell Aerial Workshop 2 – 1.30-2.10pm
Lynn Campbell Aerial Workshop 3 – 3.30-4.10pm

About

Lynn Campbell and Jane Park are over 55 and love being in the air! Both love to teach and to perform. Lynn has trained as a teacher (dance, circus, PGCE, dance therapist and yoga teacher). Jane is an artist, Iyengar yoga teacher and circus tutor.

The Inspire Festival Aerial workshops are short tasters of the fun and challenge that aerial skills provide. You might use trapeze, aerial hoop, cocoons and silks. Aerial is a great way of keeping fit, improving mobility and having fun!

Making Choreography Workshops with Tim Rubidge

Tim Rubidge Making Choreography Workshop 1 – 12.30 – 1.10pm
Tim Rubidge Making Choreography Workshop 2 – 1.30 – 2.10pm

About

Born in 1949, for nearly fifty years Tim has explored and devised many new dance works, presenting solo and small ensemble choreographies and performances nationally and internationally in cities and communities in the UK, Europe, USA and South Africa. In parallel he has developed and directed ground-breaking community participatory projects in very diverse settings. He went on to conceive and direct a series of site-specific performances that developed and drew upon imaginative, physical and sensory experiences of both rural and urban locations. He was Visiting Fellow in Performing Arts at Northumbria University for three years and has received many grants and awards.

Workshop – over his long career Tim has found so many ways to devise a dance, a choreography. This workshop is a whistle-stop tour of following one direction to see where it goes – moving to make meaning.

Mini and Mature Movers Workshop with Helen Kumar

Mini and Mature Movers Workshop – 3.30-4.10pm

About

Helen Kumar is part of Dance City’s Engagement team. She has over 20 years’ experience in teaching dance. Helen says: “I love seeing generations dancing together and think this will be a wonderful session!” Get your grandchild/grandchildren dropped off and enjoy time dancing together. Moving and grooving, wiggling and giggling this is a fun, creative workshop for mini ones under the age of 6 and more mature dancers of any age!

Boundless Open Rehearsal and Performance

Open Rehearsal 3 – 3.30pm
Performance 6pm
Performance 6pm (followed by a post-show Q&A):

Boundless 55+ Company – new work by John Kendall (15 min)
Touch the Beast – screen dance film by Dora Frankel (10 min) Touch the Beast is an award-winning dance film and performance which evokes a Gothic world through the lens of the 21st century. Featuring a diverse and charismatic cast, including non-binary dancers, caught in a moment of time.
Four Studies in Hope – Tim Rubidge – (15 min) This is an extract from a full-length work that Tim Rubidge devised and performed with Swiss colleague Karin Hermes. It toured in Europe between 2018 and the beginning of Covid-19 and included a number of 3-day residencies including in Berlin, Zurich, Lucerne, Ascona and London. It explores how hope can find physical expression.

About

Boundless is the name of Dance City’s 55+ company which provides a unique opportunity for mature dancers in the region to develop their contemporary dance and performance skills as well as technical ability. The company work with talented Dance City teachers as well as local guest choreographers to create original work for digital and in person performance opportunities. The work that will be presented at Inspire Festival is a new original work choreographed by John Kendall. John trained at Scottish School of Contemporary Dance; EDge (postgraduate company of London Contemporary Dance School). He joined balletLORENT in 2011 and has also worked with Martin Forsberg; Ben Duke; Jorge Crecis; Matthew Robinson; Rocco Vermijs; Thomas Small; Pete Shenton; Daria Buzovkina; Robby Graham; Peter Groom; Anthony Lo-Giudice and most recently Joan Cleville with Plan B for Utopia and The North.

SATURDAY DROP-IN ACTIVITIES (no booking required)

VA(R)NISH – film installation loop

Small Meeting Room, 11am – 7pm both days

VA(R)NISH is a short dance film created on zoom with women in the North East & Scotland over Lockdown 3 that seeks to challenge an article in a magazine suggesting that older women should not wear brightly coloured nail varnish as it draws attention to their ageing hands. The movement has been inspired by our workshops in Bharatanatyam and South Asian Folk Dance with Anusha Subramanyam, Vogueing with Patrick Ziza and BSL with Nicole Vivien Watson and marks the beginning of our research into why some women feel invisible when they reach a ‘certain age’, coinciding with the Menopause.

Three Score Dance – dance film installation loop

Studio 5, 11am – 7pm both days

Digital Tapestries- Dancing with the Birds

Commissioned filmmaker-choreographer Marisa Zanotti

Led by the innovative filmmaker, Dr. Marisa Zanotti, this boundary-pushing dance film follows a group through their creative journey in lockdown and ways in which they’ve explored their emotional landscape and lockdown as a physical and psychological reality. This film celebrates the creativity of these elder dancers as a form of resistance.

Sunday

10am – 11am – Welcome from Sir Richard Alston, renowned choreographer and Artistic Director

12pm – In Conversation with Sir Richard Alston

Caroline Banks Workshops

Caroline Banks Fitsteps at the Movies Workshop, 11 – 11.40am
Caroline Banks Basic Ballroom Workshop, 12.30 – 1.30pm

About

Caroline Banks has taught at Dance City for 5 years specialising in Ballroom, Latin American, Tap and Fitsteps. From a young age her background has been dance and in more recent years she decided to make it a full time career which she says is “easily the best decision I ever made!”

Fitsteps Workshop – This themed workshop will take you through a serious of classic Ballroom and Latin moves in a dance fitness style focusing on basic technique and flair. Movie-themed music will see us waltzing, jiving and quickstepping through a fun filled session and is aimed at both the beginner and those with some Fitsteps experience.

Ballroom Workshop – This session is aimed at the beginner/improver and will include partner work or can be danced solo. Join us on the dance floor as we put together simple choreography to music while having fun learning some basic Ballroom technique.

Gill Roncarelli, Roncametrics Workshops

Roncametrics Workshop 1 – 11 – 11.40am
Roncametrics Workshop 2 – 12.30 – 1.10pm
Roncametrics Workshop 3 – 2 – 2.40pm

About

Gill Roncarelli is an ex- professional dancer in; Ballet, Contemporary, Musical Theatre and Physical Theatre. Born in 1961 she trained at Tweedies in Manchester and went professional at the age of sixteen. Gill danced all over Europe and taught at the Strauss Institute in Via Brera, Milan, from 1980-1985, which specialised in movement therapies such as Alexander technique, Feldenkrais, Pilates, Cunningham and Mattox technique. After returning to the UK, Gill taught dance and movement at Cumbria College of Art and Design, was a Senior Lecturer in Dance, Movement and Physical Theatre at Cumbria Institute of the Arts and was Course Leader for Dance at the University of Cumbria until 2016. Gill’s research in that time focused on the efficiency of movement and her work over the last 20 years has been dedicated to finding exercises and asanas from a series of disciplines that give the fastest results in; toning, flexibility, focus and breath. After a series of 10 trials using people from different backgrounds, ages, and body types, Gill created ‘Roncametrics’

Each Roncamtrics session will include elements of breathing, stretching, tensing and relaxing muscle groups.

Mini and Mature Movers Workshop with Helen Kumar

Mini and Mature Movers Workshop – 11.00 – 11.40am

About

Darren Pritchard Voguing Workshops

Voguing with Darren Pritchard Workshop 1 – 12.30 – 1.10pm
Voguing with Darren Pritchard Workshop 2 – 2.00 – 2.40pm

About

Darren is a performer, choreographer, teacher, producer, and director. He’s also a celebrated Vogue performer and the Mother of the House of Ghetto in Manchester. He is fierce.
Voguing is for everyone, regardless of your experience – it’s all about love, sharing and self-expression.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve not danced or heard of voguing before. These workshops provide a safe, no-pressure space for people of all abilities, backgrounds & experiences to discover Vogue, discover themselves and most importantly have fun!

Pilates Workshop – Mark Turner

Pilates Workshop – 2:00 – 2:40pm

About

This workshop consists of low-impact flexibility and muscular strength and endurance movements. Pilates emphasizes proper postural alignment, core strength and muscle balance for grace and ease in your daily movements. Most classes will begin with some Feldenkrais (somatic movement technique) exercises to improve awareness, reduce tension and encourage the greatest efficiency of moving.

Performance – 4:00pm

About

Part 1 – Sir Richard Alston
Join us for a performance devised by celebrated choreographer Sir Richard Alston, in collaboration with experienced dancer Martin Lawrence. Martin has danced for Richard Alston since 1995 and, especially for the Inspire Festival, Richard has created a dance to explore how such long term collaboration can indeed increase in richness over the years together.

Sir Richard says of the project: “In order to show how I have worked with older dancers, I decided to make a short solo for Martin Lawrence, who is now 49 and who I have worked with a lot over the years. I’d love to do this, to show what’s possible with an experienced but retired senior dancer who has always inspired me.”

The performance will be followed by a Q&A session with Richard and Martin.

Richard Alston studied fine art and theatre design at Croydon College of Art in 1965, before continuing his studies at the London School of Contemporary Dance in 1968. He went on to choreograph for London Contemporary Dance Theatre, before forming the UK’s first independent dance company, Strider, in 1972. In 1975, Alston studied at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio in New York. Upon his return in 1980, he was appointed Resident Choreographer of Ballet Rambert, becoming Artistic Director in 1986. While artistic director, he created 24 works for Rambert and reworked ‘Java’. He was also commissioned to create works for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1982 and the Royal Ballet in 1983 and two solo works for dancer Michael Clark, ‘Soda Lake’ (1981) and ‘Dutiful Ducks’ (1982). These two works were subsequently taken into the Rambert repertoire. After stepping down as Artistic Director of Rambert, Alston went on to establish the Richard Alston Dance Company, based at The Place, London. He returned to Rambert in 2001 to create ‘Unrest’ (2001) as part of the celebrations of the company’s 75th anniversary. Alston was made an honorary Doctor of Philosophy (in Dance) at Surrey University in 1992, and in 2003 received an honourary MA from University College Chichester. He was awarded a CBE in 2001. Photo credit: Hugh Glendenning

Part 2 – Doorbells: Dreaming for the Future by Skimstone Arts
Skimstone Arts, Elders Council of Newcastle & Northumbria University present Doorbells: Dreaming for the Future.

A humorous and moving performance featuring original live music which explores where we might live as we grow older. Meet Kathleen, an ageing rocker whose zest for life has taken leave along with her ability to make a decision about where to live. Should she change her home or things in it? Is it time to downsize? Is she too young for sheltered accommodation? Can Daz, her long term friend and former bandmate help?

Doorbells: Dreaming for the Future is a humorous and moving performance inspired by the latest research about national housing issues. Featuring live music and original songs it explores the critical decisions we make about how and where we live as we grow older.

Post Show Q&A and Discussion
Take part in a discussion about housing, access to information, changes in policy and what you need to consider when making a decision about where to live when you or your loved one grow older.

“What a performance! Your character Kathleen, I wanted to hug her and kick her; I wanted to shake her and share tea with her. She was so immediate and believable…”
– Dr Cathy Bailey, Northumbria University

5.30pm – closing refreshments

SUNDAY DROP-IN ACTIVITIES (no booking required)

VA(R)NISH – film installation loop

Small Meeting Room, 11am – 7pm both days

Three Score Dance – dance film installation loop

Studio 5, 11am – 7pm both days

Digital Tapestries- Dancing with the Birds

Commissioned filmmaker-choreographer Marisa Zanotti

Q&A 4pm with Three Score Dance
A Q&A about Digital Tapestries: ‘Dancing With The Birds’ with Company Artistic Director: Jason Keenan Smith and commissioned Film Artist Dr. Marisa Zanotti discussing the company, innovative art, lockdown, and privileging the unseen.