Summer Celebration Project!

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An image of 6 women of different ages and ethnicity standing together in a line, with the female to the right of the image in her wheelchair. They all have their arms linked behind and around each other and are smiling. Surroundings: a bright studio with pale wooden flooring with royal blue chair along the back wall

Connected Communities is our Summer Celebration Project, where we celebrate who we are, engage with new participants and audiences, and explore something new each year. It’s about collective joy, meeting new people, learning new things and achieving together!

Throughout the project, FRONTLINEdance will celebrate the Stoke-on-Trent community’s rich culture, heritage and green spaces, by creating a cross-art form celebration event of dance, music, song, costume, spoken word, and creative writing; inspired by and co-created with the local diverse community in which we’re based.

It will be the result of a community participatory programme to encourage different communities to come together to celebrate and share connections, and traditions: Click on this link to find out how you can join us! This is the link to the timetable.

In a spirit of joy and friendship, this project will culminate and be celebrated over the 3 days:

  1. Appetite’s Big Feast on 26th August: snippets and tasters of the work created will be performed in various outside areas of Hanley – Stoke on Trents’ City Centre between 11am and 4pm. We’ll also join the Windrush75 parade.
  2. Tunstall Park on 9th September: A FREE performance and participatory arts event where the audience will be led around different areas of the park where they will be met by a multi-cultural cast of musicians, singers, dancers, and poets. Poems and creative writing will be attached to trees and benches, and a treasure trail will be created. Workshops will take place in the flora hall throughout the day as well as on the grass areas and under the trees.
  3. Inside Social Club type of venue TBC on 10th September: audiences, staff, volunteers and the cast will come together to celebrate what we have achieved with food, conversations and dancing. Pop-up performances will take place throughout the event by the cast, conversation tasks to get people talking to each other and share, along with playing traditional games from different cultures suggested by the cast.

We’ll positively impact the local community, address inequalities, and improve community cohesion. Participants will form new friendships, and understanding, experience collective enjoyment and achievement, celebrate things that are important to them, share them, and engage in the arts and new people for the first time.

The physicality of dance, the creativity of writing, music and song as a fabric of community, the culture marker of costume design, and artwork for promotion, will result in a multi-faceted creative artistic experience full of benefits to everyone who experiences it!

Individuals’ voices, culture and lives will be celebrated with equity and enjoyment.

Connecting Communities: Participants Sessions

IMPORTANT: Due to the nature of the project resulting in performance, the timetable is subject to change. We’ll let you know at least one week in advance of changes. FRONTLINEdance is also waiting for confirmation on the lead musician so that is why there is a (?). You are more than welcome to attend all the sessions even if you are not performing with us. Where it states, ‘Rehearsal for performances’ you can still attend as a volunteer? We’ll have several volunteer jobs for you to do. You can attend as many sessions as you like. Each session will be different. Like all our sessions, all our summer project sessions will be inclusive and you can take part sitting. If you require a BSL interpreter to be at any of the sessions, please let us know as soon as possible.

If you have not already registered with FRONTLINEdance then you are required to do so here: https://forms.office.com/r/fZQdcbTMQM

These sessions are open to all, so please invite your friends, families and colleagues to come and join us too! Just forward this document to them.

Any questions please call Rachael: 07484 874335 or email rachael@frontlinedance.co.uk

All sessions are intergenerational, therefore approximately 5-year-olds to 85-year-olds will be enjoying and achieving together. For Safeguarding, those under 13 years old will need to be accompanied by a parent/carer/older friend or family member. Remember family and friends can join us too.

Lastly, a reminder that we will not be providing any medical or personal care. Therefore, if this is something that you require then you will need to attend with a person who supports you with this.

Thanks for your patience and support, Rachael and the FRONTLINEdance Team.

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