65,000 PEOPLE IN WORLDWIDE BIG DANCE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES

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Asher Tate
5 years ago
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together to take part in a Glasgow 2014 inspired dance, created especially by artists from Scottish Ballet.

1 Press Release STRICTLY EMBARGOED IN ALL FORMATS UNTIL 12.30PM ON FRIDAY 16 MAY (BST) 65,000 PEOPLE IN WORLDWIDE BIG DANCE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES At 1pm on 16 May thousands of adults and schoolchildren in the UK and across the world will join together to take part in a Glasgow 2014 inspired dance, created especially by artists from Scottish Ballet. The Big Dance Pledge is an annual project, adopted in 2014 as a part of Get Scotland Dancing and the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme. The dance will be performed by over 65,000 people in 24 countries in public spaces, schools and workplaces. In Edinburgh, 300 dancers are coming together on The Mound to lead the rest of the world with their moves. The Emirates Arena, Glasgow, the main sporting area for the Commonwealth Games will host 500 dancers from across the city. In London, shoppers at Westfield London will be surprised with a mass performance by 120 local school children, whilst at Sadler s Wells the renowned Company of Elders - a group of dancers over 60 years old will take over the theatre. [A list of UK and international performance highlights is given with this release.] With support from the British Council Schools Online, huge public performances of the Big Dance Pledge will take place around the world. Over 1,000 dancers will fill Place de l'étoile, Beirut, the home to the Lebanese Parliament, whilst other countries including India, Canada, Brazil, Pakistan, Taiwan and Greece will host local large- scale events. Groups are invited to perform at 1pm or 7pm local time, wherever they are in the world. Foundation for Community Dance LCB Depot 31 Rutland Street Leicester LE1 1RE Tel: +44(0) Fax: +44 (0) info@communitydance.org.uk Company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales no Registered charity no VAT no

2 The Big Dance Pledge is produced by Foundation for Community Dance in partnership with the Mayor of London. Scottish Ballet was commissioned this year to create the dance and tuition films, which encouraged people to perform their own interpretation of the dance whether that be hip- hop or folk, Ballet to Bhangra or even to take inspiration from community, country and national dance styles. The choreography was created by Lorraine Jamieson, Scottish Ballet Education Officer with an original composition by Scottish Ballet musician, Dave Boyd. The film resource was created by director and choreographer, Heather Eddington. Quotes Jacqueline Rose, Big Dance Director, Greater London Authority, said: I am delighted that the Big Dance Pledge continues to inspire people to dance all over the world. Catherine Cassidy, Associate Director (Education) at Scottish Ballet said: The Big Dance Pledge is a wonderful way for Scottish Ballet to engage with thousands of people across the world. We wanted to create a lively, exciting dance, which used percussion and dynamic movements to get people moving and having fun together. We re delighted with the response from across the world. The groups look just amazing! James Allenby, Project Manager, Get Scotland Dancing said: As the first major event of the Get Scotland Dancing programme, we hope to show the world that dance is creative, healthy and fun. What better way to be inspired and challenged than to join thousands of others around the world in this wonderful huge dance. We re delighted that so many groups in Scotland will be performing the Pledge today. Chris Stenton, Executive Director, Foundation for Community Dance said: This year s Big Dance Pledge has really captured people s imagination worldwide. It s a great way for people of all ages to get involved with dance, whether that s learning the routine or creating their own dance inspired by the Pledge, and join in with the celebrations for Glasgow

3 Performance Highlights Location Skye Bridge, Kyle of Lochalsh, Scotland, IV40 8AG Waverley House, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 3EG Sadler's Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN Place de l'étoile / Parliament Square, Beirut, Lebanon The Engine House, High St, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, CF48 3HA Westfield Shopping City, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 7GF Emirates Arena, G40 3HY LightNight Liverpool, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral St James Mount, L1 7AZ City Centre, Sarawak, Malaysia Details The Skye Bridge will be transformed when 250 people from Skye Dance, aged from 1-91 years will peform their Big Dance Pledge on it. Employees from Creative Scotland, Amazon, Microsoft and other companies in Waverley House come together to perform in their entrance atrium. The UK's largest dance performance venue hosts a professional performance of Romeo and Juliet from Scottish Ballet, the company behind the Pledge 2014 choreography. Dancers from Sadler's Wells renowned Company of Elders will perform at 1pm followed by local community and Scottish Ballet professional dancers who will open the evening with a 7pm foyer performance of the Pledge. The annual mass performance of the Big Dance Pledge continues to grow in Lebanon with 1,000 school children coming together from in and around the capital. Community teacher Jen Angharad is bringing together 400 people from the local area to perform in a coverted rail engine shed. Local BBC news are expected to attend and cover the story. 200 participants from local Greenside Primary School, older people from Open Age, young dancers from West London School of Dance and Young Dancers Academy, students from Hammersmith Academy and English National Ballet evening will be brought together by English National Ballet to stop shoppers in their stride at 1pm and 7pm. 355 young people from across the Glasgow area are brought together by YDance, Dancehouse and Scottish Ballet to dance a Pledge welcome to the Commonwealth Games in the arena that will see so much of the sporting action. Merseyside Dance Initiative are leading public classes to learn the Pledge ready for a 7pm performance as part of LightNight, Liverpool s one- night arts and culture festival. The Kolej Datu Patinggi Abang Haji Abdillah school in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia have created their Pledge performance for a surprise flashmob in the city for Visit Malaysia Media Enquiries including images: Jane Quinn + 44 (0) (0) jq@boltonquinn.com Lorna Plampin, Big Dance lorna@bigdance.org.uk 3

4 Notes to editors: 1. The Big Dance Pledge is an annual international initiative inspiring people to learn, create and perform a special dance with groups from around the world. Free online resources enable anyone to learn or teach the dance, or create inspired versions, to be performed simultaneously. The performance day is 16 May 2014, with worldwide simultaneous performances at 1pm and 7pm. Previous choreographers of the Big Dance Pledge include renowned international artists and companies including Wayne McGregor, Artistic Director Wayne McGregor Random Dance and English National Ballet Big Dance is a biennial festival of dance and dancing led by the Mayor of London, Foundation for Community Dance and a network of Big Dance Hubs. Big Dance 2012 was the UK s largest ever celebration of dance as part of the London 2012 Festival. The Big Dance Weekend July the finale of the 2014 festival includes exceptional performances and events by a range of international and UK choreographers in iconic public spaces. Big Dance is delivered through the England's leading dance organisations: Dance City, Pavilion Dance South West, Dance4, DanceEast, Dancefest, East London Dance, English National Ballet, Greenwich Dance, Merseyside Dance Initiative, Sadler's Wells, Siobhan Davies Dance, South East Dance and Yorkshire Dance Foundation for Community Dance creates and develops opportunities for people to experience dance in all its diversity. Its vision is of a world where dance makes a positive difference, its mission is to make engagement with dance important and relevant to individuals, communities and society. The Foundation works across the UK and internationally with, and on behalf of, artists, organisations and teachers involved in leading, delivering or supporting opportunities for people to participate in dance. It promotes life- long engagement in dance, excellence in artistic practice, and places inclusion, equality and diversity at the heart of its work believing that everyone should have the opportunity to take part in dance in the way that s right for them Get Scotland Dancing aims to encourage more people to get active and participate in dance. The 2014 Commonwealth Games provides an unparalleled opportunity to raise the profile of dance as a creative, participative and physical artform. In support of this Scottish Government policy, Creative Scotland will commit 1.5 million across a four- year period, creating an inclusive celebration of dance across Scotland, linking into the wider UK and marking Scotland s place in the world. For more information on Get Scotland Dancing visit 5. Scottish Ballet is Scotland s national dance company. At Scottish Ballet education is everywhere; engaging with community groups of all ages and abilities across Scotland, the UK and internationally. From community performances of Hansel and Gretel in rural woodland areas to Parkour and ballet projects in the park and on the beach; the company breaks down barriers and opens its doors to everyone. A vibrant and experienced Education team work creatively with Artistic Director, Christopher Hampson to produce a programme of activities which complement the Company repertoire. Since his arrival in September 2012 the importance of the Education programme has increased considerably with his direct support and clear commitment to a dynamic and excellent access programme The Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme is a national celebration. Culture 2014 will showcase dance, theatre, music, visual arts, comedy and much more in the run up to and after the Commonwealth Games, with Festival 2014 transforming the Host City at Games time. The 4

5 Cultural Programme is a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, Glasgow Life, and Creative Scotland through National Lottery Funding The British Council is the UK s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations set up to create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. The organisation works in more than 100 countries and the 7000 staff including 2000 teachers work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year teaching English, sharing the Arts and in education and society programmes. The organisation is a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A publically- funded grant- in- aid provides less than a quarter of our turnover which last year was 781m. The rest is earned from English teaching, UK exams and services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with other institutions, brands and companies. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and creates prosperity and security for the UK and the countries we work in all around the world. For further information please visit: schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org and 5

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