Harlequin support for Dance City at thirty

Harlequin Floors Managing Director, Guy Dagger was at Dance City’s Harlequin sponsored anniversary gala event recently, to congratulate everyone on a successful 30 years of delivering amazing dance opportunities.

 Dance City’s Newcastle city centre home is thriving and full of students, class attendees, community groups and schools, professional dancers and touring companies from across the world. Dance City’s studios benefit from installations of Harlequin Studio and Harlequin Standfast dance floors. 

The region’s leading dance organisation and National Dance Agency for the North East, is opening its doors for a programme of special events throughout 2016. Dance City’s 250 seat Theatre boasts the UK’s biggest programme of dance performance outside London and brings leading national and international performers to Newcastle. The 2016 programme is the most ambitious yet featuring performances by Gary Clarke Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Ockham’s Razor, Motionhouse and Tavaziva. 

Since 1991 Dance City has worked with education partners to offer professional dance training, and today this programme, run in partnership with Gateshead College, Northumbria University and Teesside University is even stronger than ever. Many young dancers go on to train at the world’s most prestigious dance schools and join leading dance companies such as Rambert, Cullburg Ballet and BalletBoyz. Earlier this year student Connor Scott was named BBC Young Dancer 2015 during a live BBC2 broadcast. People of all ages and abilities come together to keep fit and active through a programme of over 60 public dance classes every week from belly dance to ballet, hip hop to flamenco. The recent advent of classes for people aged 55 and over has seen a huge increase in this age group keeping active and enjoying the great health benefits that dancing brings. 

There are more professional dancers living and working in the North East than ever before. Professional dancers and choreographers meet, develop their skills and train at Dance City through special programmes designed to develop their skills and through commissioning opportunities.

Caroline Miller to leave Dance UK

Launch of Dance Manifesto

Dance UK recently announced that Director, Caroline Miller is leaving the organisation, after ten years in charge. 

During Caroline’s tenure at Dance UK, Harlequin Floors has developed a supportive relationship, right from the Dance Manifesto through to funding towards the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science. 

Commenting on the announcement of Caroline’s departure, Harlequin’s Chairman, Bob Dagger said, “As a manufacturer of dance floors, Harlequin shares and endorses the aims and ambitions of Dance UK. We are particularly supportive of assisting in encouraging emerging talent in the dance world and the provision of specialist medical help for injuries incurred by dancers. We also support research directed at improving the safety of dancers through a better understanding of all the factors involved.   In 2006, at Caroline’s instigation, we provided input to the Dance Manifesto which was presented to the Minister for Culture and Members of Parliament, leading on to the establishment of the All Party Parliamentary Dance Group.” 

Caroline Miller says she was “Immensely proud of what I and my colleagues have achieved over the last decade at Dance UK.” One very important achievement was the establishment of he National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science. Bob Dagger added, “On behalf of Harlequin Floors I was delighted that our company was able to make a crucial financial contribution that helped enable the NIADMS project to become a reality. Caroline Miller’s advocacy and work at Dance UK has now given the world of dance a much stronger voice with  a strong platform to build on for the future.”

Andrew Hurst named CEO for One Dance UK

Following the creation of One Dance UK, bringing together four separate bodies to unify the voice of dance, the new organisation has announced that Andrew Hurst will take up the role of CEO.

One Dance UK will be formed by the merger of ADAD (Association of Dance of the African Diaspora), Dance UK, NDTA (National Dance Teachers Association) and YDE (Youth Dance England). Andrew Hurst comes to One Dance UK from The Royal Ballet, where he was a member of the senior management team with responsibility for day-to-day operations, international touring, wrap around education and training. Andrew trained with The Royal Ballet School and danced with Basel Ballet, Switzerland; Ballet Gulbenkian, Portugal; Netherlands Dance Theatre II, Holland; Berlin Ballet, Germany; and Rambert Dance Company. Talking about his new appointment, Andrew said, “I am thrilled to be building on the vital work the four organisations have done to represent the interest of our sector.

Welcoming the formation of One Dance UK and the appointment of Andrew Hurst as its first CEO, Guy Dagger, Managing Director of Harlequin Floors said, “We have worked closely with the various groups who are now united within One Dance UK. We see this as a very positive move to continue to raise the profile of dance and we wish Andrew every success for the future.”