Bradford-based Dance United Yorkshire stage ambitious intergenerational dance theatre production

The production, which has been created in collaboration with and the participation of acclaimed Bradfordian poet and spoken word artist Kirsty Taylor, will feature 70 performers – children, young people and adults aged between 5 and 74 – from some of Bradford’s most deprived areas. It is the culmination of a four-year dance programme that Dance United Yorkshire has been delivering, working with various groups on the Holme Wood housing estate.

“In 2019 we applied successfully for funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to do the work in Holme Wood and we started going into schools and running a range of projects,” says artistic director Helen Linsell. “I remember thinking as I wrote the application that if we got the funding, at the end of the four years I would like to see all the people we had worked with on the main stage at the Alhambra. For scheduling reasons that didn’t work out but doing it at St George’s Hall is fantastic – it is such a prestigious venue.”

Represented in the production are members of all six groups Dance United Yorkshire work with on a weekly basis. “We run groups for 4-7 year-olds, 8-11 year-olds and a youth company based in Holme Wood, two other youth companies based in the city centre for 11-14 year-olds and 15 up to 25,” says Linsell. “We also have an adult women’s company of women who have experienced domestic abuse or severe mental health issues.”

Doodles and Daydreams was originally created in 2016 under the artistic mentorship of award-winning choreographer Gary Clarke. This revival retains much of the original choreography but with additional new elements, most notably the spoken word and poetry from Taylor. “The original piece included some bits of narration but we thought this time we would like to work with a spoken word artist to create a cohesive narrative,” says Linsell. “Kirsty has worked with all the different groups delivering workshops, getting to know the participants, their lives and backgrounds and collecting their ideas, memories and stories. She is weaving all that together and it will be an integral part of the piece.”

There will also be an entirely new section, choreographed by one of the company’s graduates who has gone on to work with Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Phoenix Dance Theatre, featuring professional level dancers who have trained or worked with Dance United Yorkshire. “Their involvement is so important,” says Linsell. “Because it shows the younger dancers the kind of progression that is possible and it keeps their aspirations raised.”

Linsell is justifiably very proud of what the team at Dance United Yorkshire achieve through their thoughtful, bespoke dance projects and interventions that stretch and inspire their participants. “Our work has a legacy and a life-long impact,” she says. “Holme Wood is a place that faces many challenges and has had a lot of bad press – it is rare that it is seen in a positive light. We want to shout about it and put people from Holme Wood into a space where they wouldn’t necessarily see themselves.” The performance will also feature the screening of short poetic dance film Out of the Woods, made during lockdown and inspired by interviews with elders of the Holme Wood community who shared their memories of growing up there.

Linsell says that they are hoping for good audiences, everyone is welcome and there is no charge to attend. “It has been so heart-warming in rehearsals seeing the different age groups working together with such mutual respect. It feels like we are doing something amazing and we want as many people to see it as possible.”

Doodles and Daydreams is at St George’s Hall, Bradford, October 25, 6.30pm. To reserve a free place visit Dance United Yorkshire on Eventbrite