Category: Work

‘DIY Dancer’, a short film commissioned by FRONTLINEdance. This film gave associate artist Kayleigh Price and members of our community dance groups the opportunity to work together to produce a unique piece of dance for film for the first time.

‘DIY Dancer’ screen dance project, centres on a poem by Matt Abbott written for community dance participant Mary Godden at an Appetite Event. It feature’s in the films conclusion which is beautifully signed by Kevaughn Laing (one of our ATP dancers and now emerging artists).

The performing dancers are from FRONTLINEdance’s community programmes – Breakthrou’ dance, Moving Together and our new Advanced Training Programme (ATP). Ages range from 7 to 77 years old and participants are d/DEAF, disabled, neurodivergent dancers or have a long-term health condition’s.

The film features dancers who had only just joined the FRONTLINEdance community (3 weeks in), where they and others made their performance debut as part of the film!

Choreography: Kayleigh Price and the dancers

Videography By: Jay Gearing Red7Productions

Composition and Music: Luke Marley

Direction: Kayleigh Price

Contact hello@frontlinedance.co.uk for more details, to support FRONTLINEdance and to join one of our programmes. Find us on most social media channels @FRONTLINEdance1 and hit subscribe on YouTube.

FRONTLINEdance is proud to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (2023-2026), which means funding thanks to taxpayers plays a huge part in supporting our work.

We’re inviting you to join ‘Holding On 2’ – a Creative Health project open to those living with and beyond cancer.

In a safe environment, you will explore creative and artistic ideas in a number of ways, supported by our team of artists, (most of which have had a cancer diagnosis themselves ), and each other. Loved ones are welcome too 😊.

On offer will be movement and dance (as gentle or as energetic as you wish it to be), singing, music, creative writing, drawing, plus more besides!

NO EXPERIENCE NECCESARY. We’re well known for integrating beginners and professionals together in the same space. 

All sessions are free of charge, and we can support transport costs. Sessions on offer will be on a few different days and times to accommodate commitments, hospital appointments and days when you are not feeling well enough to attend. Days, times and venues will be sent after we have had a chat. 

Please call Rachael (Artistic Director/CEO) – or email/text Rachael to call you, so we can discuss the project with you and highlight all the different options of taking part on offer. It’s starting very soon!

There will be a choice to share what we create in a live performance and a film project. This is your choice and not wanting to take part will not prevent you from taking part in all other aspects of the project. We’d love as many people as possible to join us and we understand performing isn’t for everyone. 

If this isn’t for you, but you’d like to share your cancer journey with us, so others can explore and share it as part of our performances, then please contact Rachael. She will listen to your story, then let you know how we’d like to use it.  

This project aims to support and nurture your mental, emotional, social and physical health. Words to describe similar projects have been; safe, joyous, supported, listened to, respected, comradery, valued, energised, alive, strong, more agile, proud, content, acceptance, hope and ownership.

Please contact Rachael as soon as you can: 

Email: rachael@frontlinedance.co.uk | Mobile: 07484 874335 😊

We are also keen to hear from those who work with Cancer patients in hospital and community settings who are interested in getting involved. There are many strands to this project, and we can also come to you as part of it. 

If you are a group and you’d like us to visit you please contact: rachael@frontlinedance.co.uk as soon as possible. 

Please share this opportunity with those who you think would like to join us.

Many thanks.

Creative, explorative, movement and dance.

Moving Stories is a FRONTLINEdance community performance company who meet face to face, for creative, expressive, explorative, movement and dance sessions. Aimed at all age groups as we value the richness of intergenerational work and the value different ages can bring to a group and the individual. Suitable for all ability and experience levels, and of course like all our work, they are inclusive.

These sessions will usually see you co-creating themed based contemporary dance work with FRONTLINEdance’s Artistic Director, which are then ‘site-specifically’ performed. To date the group have performed at a number of local events and festivals including the Dignity Awards at NUL College, all the New Vic Theatre Live Age Festivals, and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery.

Sessions starting back soon! Please get in touch for more information: hello@frontlinedance.co.uk

The performance was visually stunning and a great collaboration with musicians – especially liked them getting involved in the dance! Really good work” 

To celebrate our 5^th Anniversary, Artistic Director Rachael Lines, in collaboration with musicians Mr Will & Paul Rogerson, created ‘Sacred Place’; a new piece of integrated contemporary dance, which was then toured throughout Staffordshire.

The Tour was a huge success reaching 9 artists, 80 participants and 1,150 audience members. It allowed us to tour to 8 venues and work with six different groups as part of our outreach work. The groups consisted of youth clubs, day centres and disability groups, which provided us with a diverse group of young people, adults and older people. Participant’s age ranged from 12-91 yrs.

The tour was made possible by funding received from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Awards For All, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, Reginald Johnson Foundation and the Strasser Foundation.

Dancers: Gemma Chadfiled, Amy Tomson, Kevin Jewell, Daniel Daw, David Jowett, Rachael Lines

In 2003/2004, FRONTLINEdance received an Arts Council England RALP grant to create two new collaborative pieces of work between artistic director, guest choreographer (Lorena Todino), artist and costume designer (Joanna Geldard), composer (Joe Wilson), singer( Sarah Miller and company dancer Emma Waller). The work then toured to theatres in London, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Stafford, and un-conventional theatre settings throughout Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire

“I want to see it all over again – NOW! A truly amazing experience and wonderful performance. Thank you.”

“Really well presented and very accessible (both pieces) – music and costume beautiful and great to see an additional sculptural element…thanks for your performance”

Dancers: Gemma Chadfiled, Amy Tomson, Michael King, Rachael Lines

In 2008 FRONTLINEdance was asked by ACE West Midlands to work with local companies to create a site specific performance project; A ‘Game of 2 Arfs’ was created. It saw the community of Stoke-on-Trent engaged as participants and audiences in a professional dance performance with poetry, music and theatre.  This contemporary dance event animated public spaces in the town centre of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. The project included professional performances which were interweaved between 6 community groups that we formed especially for this project. The project was very well received by the City Council, venues/partners, those who work in the city and members of the public.  A need has been found for the city and this project must be built on in order to bring accessible arts to the many and to support the regeneration of the people and livelihoods in its fullest meaning.

Guest performances from Wired Ariel, Rotten Park Rd, and Staffordshire Dance Collective

September to October 2015 to celebrate ‘International Older Peoples Day’, our Artistic Director created a new work to be performed at PMAG as part of the Live Age Festival. It engaged an intergenerational & integrated team of dancers (15yrs to 66yrs) with live choral accompaniment and delivered workshops. FLD are an active partner of the Live Age Festival steering group.

Moving Together was created following an Outreach Programme to our 5^th Anniversary Tour where we worked with Trinity Day Opportunities in Stafford. A successful result has meant many projects that have developed and grown over the years. It was originally a partnership with Staffordshire County Council Day Opportunities in Stafford, Stone, Eccleshall & Meir Heath (which grew to two extra rural care settings in Stafford) up until the council closed down there day services for older people in 2011. However our relationship continued with the groups, as individual staff set up their own day care services.

Moving Together exists to improve the Health and Well-Being of older people through the delivery of regular movement and dance sessions and much needed social interaction. The sessions mainly focus on gentle exercise, falls prevention, postural stability, mobility, the engagement of body and mind, social dances, interaction, enjoyment, structure and improved memory. The main aim is to enjoy and achieve together demonstrating the powers that dance can play.

In 2012 the regular sessions had a change of focus when our Artistic Director came up with the concept & idea to create a light-hearted contemporary dance film, ‘Pack up your troubles’. It promoted positive images of older people and integrated a group of dancers (60yrs to 97yrs ) from 3 different settings together.