Chance to dance at wheelchair ballet workshop

The Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts invited Northern Ballet to team up with the Yorkshire Association for Music and Special Educational Needs to offer young wheelchair users the chance to enjoy dance with the help of professional performers.

The project will conclude in a performance at the annual summer concert at the Kings Hall in Ilkley next Wednesday.

The workshops took place earlier this week at Northern Ballet’s new centre for dance in Leeds and were open to wheelchair users aged from nine to 26.

Northern Ballet dance artists Caroline Burn and Zoe Parker led the sessions which introduced participants to dance movements in their chairs, encouraging them to use their bodies in different ways.

Northern Ballet dance education officer Caroline Burn said: “Dance is not an obvious activity for wheelchair users to participate in but the Wheelchair Dance project demonstrates that dance really can be enjoyed by everyone.

“The project forms part of our work to encourage people with additional needs to take part in dance. It will offer a different perspective on traditional ideas of what wheelchair dance is and how wheelchair users can move.

“This is the second year of the project and we held taster sessions in the spring to encourage new participants to take part. Now, at the invitation of the Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts, the young people will have the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience.”

Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s leading ballet companies, performing across the country and overseas. The company is now based at Quarry Hill, Leeds, the largest centre for dance outside London.

The wheelchair dance project was supported by Booths Supermarkets.