This March, dance City launch the Sunderland Schools Dance Festival. This day of dance celebrated the hard work, creativity and talent of students across Sunderland.

Dance City has been working with seven schools, in collaboration with the Sunderland Games Organisers, as part of the ‘Make your Move’ scheme.

‘Make Your Move’ gives children the opportunity to move, have fun, learn new styles of dance, explore themes, understand how to build choreography, see professionals at work, and perform on the big stage. Across Sunderland, dance artists delivered 12 weeks of dance sessions, allowing students to choreograph and discover their creativity through dance. The students also achieved an Arts Award for their hard work, allowing them to reflect on their dance practice.

You can find out more about the Make Your Move package here.

In March, six of these schools – 124 students – took part in the Sunderland Schools Dance Festival and performed on the Dance City stage. This was an exciting opportunity get to know a theatre and understand creative works. Each group completed a studio workshop, technical rehearsal and had the chance to watch each other on stage before the evening performance for friends and family.

A huge range of dance styles were performed, from Tango and Charleston to Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. For many students, this was their first time inside a theatre, and a completely new experience. The community dance artists continue to deliver dance sessions to schools across the region, bringing confidence, movement, enjoyment and a love of dance to hundreds of young people.