The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and 2014 Commonwealth Games, provided 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 committed £1.5 million of National Lottery funding 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. Additionally Cashback for Creativity and Event Scotland's Games for Scotland funds were aligned to support the aim of encouraging more people to participate in dance. Working with Scotland’s key dance organisations, Get Scotland Dancing brought together professional and amateur dancers of all ages to dance in public spaces in our towns, villages and cities – bringing dance to the people and people to dance. We aimed to strengthen opportunities to participate in dance and create a lasting legacy for communities throughout Scotland.
“Scotland’s culture is one of our most enduring and powerful assets and dance is a huge part of that. We as a nation have a long dance tradition, from ceilidhs to the Highland fling, from ballet to break dancing and everything in between.” Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs
Get Scotland Dancing encourages more people to get active and participate in dance
In 2012 six hubs across Scotland presented programmes as part of the UK-wide Big Dance celebrations. Over the final weekend of the London 2012 Festival, Michael Clark Company created a landmark dance event for Glasgow. The Barrowlands Project marked the change in focus from London 2012 to Glasgow 2014. As Scotland prepared for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Get Scotland Dancing developed its own identity and widened its reach to more than 300 partners accross the whole of Scotland. The 2014 Get Scotland Dancing programme launched in April 2014 and included more than 300 events in Scotland and internationally. Events were part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme; a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee, Glasgow Life, and Creative Scotland through National Lottery funding. This publication celebrates the achievements of the Scottish dance community in what was an unprecedented year of dance for Scotland.
“In 2014, we want to Get Scotland Dancing and keep Scotland dancing. Encouraging individuals and communities to become more active is a key part of our Legacy from Glasgow 2014.” Shona Robison, Minister for Sport and Commonwealth Games
GET SCOTLAND DANCING IS AN INITIATIVE LED BY CREATIVE SCOTLAND
Big Dance 2012
The Barrowlands Project
Six Scottish dance hubs joined Big Dance 2012, the UK’s biggest ever celebration of dance. Each hub created a bespoke programme of activity across the summer of 2012. Events included a Dance Hunt in Aberdeen, Salsa Street Parties in Fort William, Inverness and Portree, the World’s Biggest Tea Dance in Edinburgh, the Let’s Dance Festival in Stirling, a Dance Walk in Dundee and a community company dancing to a new live music commission in a Glasgow shopping centre.
Over the final weekend of the London 2012 Festival, 8 and 9 September, Michael Clark Company created a landmark dance event for Glasgow. The Barrowlands Project, co-produced with Dance House Glasgow and Glasgow Life, marked the change in focus from London 2012 to Glasgow 2014.
Creative Scotland also supported three new Dance Artist/Development Officer posts in areas with no provision (see over).
Taking over the celebrated Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, now a revered music venue and with a history as Glasgow’s premier dance hall, the performance project was specially created by Michael Clark, the iconic Scottish dancer, choreographer and artist. The Barrowlands Project featured local people as performers in the choreography alongside the company dancers accentuating the communal dance experience.
More than 50,000 people were engaged in activity in Scotland.
Scotland’s London 2012 Cultural Programme Big Dance 2012 Michael Clark Company: The Barrowlands Project
“One of the best experiences I have had, one that has changed and changed me.” The Barrowlands Project participant A documentary of the 2012 programme can be seen at vimeo.com/51514996
Our Network
Get Scotland Dancing is an association of every organisation and dancer who shares our vision to Get Scotland Dancing and to keep Scotland dancing. To make Get Scotland Dancing a truly national celebration we worked with a range of partners to quickly build a network with whom we could share our message.
National Partners
6 Regional Hubs 253 Movers & Shakers 27 Dance Artists/ Development Officers
National Partners are organisations with a national reach and remit including teaching associations.
148 Event Organisers
Regional Hubs delivered all of the national events as well as their own bespoke programmes and acted as focal points for their regions.
18,000+ miles travelled to meet partners
Movers & Shakers includes a wide range of smaller, independent dance organisations, studios and teachers who regularly offer dance activity across Scotland. Dance Artists and Dance Development officers work in communities, often in a local authority context to plan and deliver dance activity through targeted programmes. Event Organisers also registered their interest in putting on or promoting events, many of them outwith Scotland. The network was facilitated through initial local meetings followed by regional gatherings, a national steering group and an online network.
12 National Partners
Regional Hubs
Dundee Dance Partnership
The Big Dance Pledge is a chance to learn, make and perform a dance with the rest of the world. 2014 was the fifth edition of the pledge produced by Big Dance/Foundation for Community Dance and was created by Scottish Ballet. Scottish Ballet’s considered approach, led by the Education team and Associate Director, Education, Catherine Cassidy, reimagined the model and produced significant positive results. The choreography was simple with short phrases showcasing multiple styles including ballet, Bhangra, Highland and a freestyle section. Choreographed by Education Officer Lorraine Jamieson, the dance was fun, accessible and yet still a challenge to the complete novice. Dave Boyd’s newly commissioned music, the catchy soundtrack to the Pledge, led dancers with audio cues and provided a cohesive and pumping crescendo to the five minute piece. Through online video resources we met a ‘Pledge Family’ starring in a professionally directed introductory film more akin to a music video than dance tuition. The Pledge Family live (and dance) all together in a big house with kids, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and even a dancing postwoman. The family is diverse and includes a wheelchair user to show that the dance can be modified to all abilities. As in past years, detailed films then break down sections of the dance so that groups with potentially little or no dance experience could learn the Pledge.
Big Dance Pledge
Another innovation saw groups with more dance experience encouraged to create their own choreographic response and perform this to the same music. Five examples were created with groups at Dance Base, Edinburgh including ballet, Bollywood, hip hop and even drivers from a local taxi firm. The taxi drivers (a corporate sponsor of Dance Base) filmed their contribution with Edinburgh Castle as the backdrop and received the lion’s share of views online plus lots of press attention. Indepen-dance, Scotland’s inclusive dance company, filmed their own version too showing a range of modifications and proving that everyone can take part. In Scotland, GSD supported YDance to deliver training to teachers in areas without Dance Development Officers and Scottish Ballet offered Continuous Professional Development sessions to schools and private teachers throughout Scotland. Groups around the world were encouraged to join up and dance their Pledge together at special events. In Scotland our network of GSD Hubs each mounted a public event which included a national media opportunity in central Edinburgh and an event at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena. Scottish Ballet worked with Sadler’s Wells to produce a flashmob in their foyer before a performance of their touring production of Romeo & Juliet. As the sun set on Pledge day, one hundred dancers occupied the famous Skye Bridge in the Highlands and danced for their community.
More than 68,000 participants registered to take part in the Pledge YDance delivered 15 CPD sessions for teachers in areas without Dance Development Officers Groups participated in 23 countries around the world
The Commonwealth Ceilidh Overlooked by the Colorado Mountains and Edinburgh Castle… in village halls at the heart of rural communities and bustling city squares in Aukland, Tasmania, Sydney, Jakarta, Aberdeen, Fife, Stonehaven, Cape Town, St Petersburg, London, Jamaica and many points inbetween. On midsummer’s evening in 2014, thousands of people came together to dance a Ceilidh that travelled 18,250 miles across the world over the course of an unforgettable 24 hours. The Commonwealth Ceilidh aimed to celebrate and energise this loved Scottish tradition, beginning on Saturday 21 June in New Zealand at 7.30pm local time and then traveling westward crossing time zones, with dances reaching Scotland thirteen hours later and this epic event ended in Hawaii 24 hours after the first Ceilidh Call.
Three new dances created for the project fused Scottish country dancing with different dance and musical influences under themes inspired by the Commonwealth Games and were performed on the day alongside existing favourites such as The Dashing White Sergeant, The Eightsome Reel and Strip the Willow. RSCDS Aberdeen choreographer, Emma Allsop, 23, along with local hip-hop dancers created the high-energy and youthful Speed and Endurance themed dance The Granite City Reel. RSCDS Edinburgh and Indian classical dance company Dance Ihayami fused Indian dance and musical styles for the Commonwealth Connections themed dance named The Radical Road.
It encompassed more than 74 events, across Australasia, Asia, Africa, Europe and the USA as part of an event which was open to everyone, of every age and ability.
RSCDS Glasgow partnered with Indepen-dance, Scotland’s inclusive dance company, and Confidance, Glasgow’s blind and partially sighted dance group, to create a dance focused around the theme of Agility, reflecting the inclusion of all visitors and competitors to the Commonwealth Games and has been named The Clydeside Reel.
The Commonwealth Ceilidh was led by The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), and was part of Get Scotland Dancing and the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme.
Each Commonwealth Ceilidh was unique to its location, with an interval in every event giving the chance for groups to showcase local, national or international dance styles to mark this fun and special occasion.
More than 74 ceilidhs took place RSCDS branches and groups formed many new partnerships with other dance organisations Watch the dances at commonwealthceilidh.org
Dance-along Movies
Dancers and non-dancers across Scotland had the chance to dance-along to classic movies including Grease and Dirty Dancing at special outdoor screenings in Stirling, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow and Greenock. Led by dance artist Chris-Stuart Wilson, audiences learnt moves from key moments in the film in a fun warm up before the screening.
As the films began they joined in with the dancing during the key unforgettable scenes we know and love, breaking into a huge shake down for the finale. To add to the party atmosphere, audiences were encouraged to (and often did) dress up as their favourite characters from the movie.
Dance to interrupt, surprise and inspire in real life settings. Dance Trails took dance out to the people, into parks, graveyards, up lampposts, down alleyways, into shopping centres and onto public squares. Dundee’s Dance Trail took place in October 2013 and featured numerous groups coming together under the artistic direction of Smallpetitklein’s Thomas Small with a theme of 1950s dancehall. As part of their Queen’s Baton Relay celebrations dance also featured prominently with performances and chances to join in at the event in City Square. Stirling’s Let’s Dance Festival featured Dutch artist Erik Kaiel’s murikamification which saw dancers running up walls, sitting on top of lamp posts and creating a dance playground out of Stirling city centre. Macrobert also produced two new outdoor dance pieces for the GSD Dance Trails programme. Chrissie Ardill and Underhand Dance’s Held Up was the ultimate adventure in multi-tasking, and running late! The piece was performed in Stirling, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and Inverness. Robbie Synge’s Rally in Progress was an intervention taking the form of a political rally and was performed in Stirling and Glasgow as part of Festival 2014.
Dance Trails
In Aberdeen Citymove’s Dance Hunt ran for its third year in the city centre with two days of performances and tasters in public spaces. Dance Base in Edinburgh ran a digital Dance Trail with their Virtual Flashmob Haka project working with Taki Maori from New Zealand. Eden Court’s Dance Trail in Inverness led audiences on a route around the city centre to see contemporary, street dance, salsa and many more styles. On a beautiful summers day tourists and shoppers were treated to surprise dances in all kinds of locations. In Glasgow the entire Merchant City was a dance trail during Festival 2014 with performances everywhere! Dance House also commissioned Tim Casson to create Glasgow’s very own The Dance We Made building a dance from movements contributed in on-street interviews and culminating in a short film. Smaller dance trails also took place in Midlothian (as part of their Queen’s Baton Relay celebrations) and in Kirkcudbright as part of the Kirkcudbright Arts and Crafts Trail.
Events in all Scottish cities Digital dance trail in partnership with New Zealand Two new commissions created and toured
Hubs Programmes
As well as presenting events for the Big Dance Pledge, Get Dancin’, Dance Trails and Dance-along Movies, each hub devised a bespoke programme of activity that responded to the needs and opportunities of their own regions. Citymoves in Aberdeen presented the ambitious 100 Days, 100 Dances offering different dance experiences to watch and try every day in the 100 days running up to the start of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Citymoves also ran residencies in Peterhead and Fraserburgh, to reach young dancers who have less access to dance and their ever-popular Great Big Dance Show Aberdeen. Dance Base in Edinburgh continued to develop their boys only dance company The Unusual Suspects and presented Destination Dance, an outdoor performance including groups from local private schools and Dance Base groups. Dance Base also devolved part of its GSD funds to Dance Development Officers in East, West and Midlothian to initiate a regional dance strategy. Dance House in Glasgow worked with their GSD supported community company and other Glasgow groups to present The Gadfly Project at Go Dance 2014, a new commission working with multiple choreographers and a live orchestra. During Festival 2014 Dance House presented three days of dance performances and taster sessions at Merchant Square to significant audiences.
Dundee Dance Partnership used its partnership approach to present professional work for children and opportunities for adults to participate in Sisgo through Scottish Dance Theatre. Leisure & Culture Dundee and Showcase the Street supported school holiday Dance Camps. The Great Big Dance Show Dundee presented groups from around the city at Dundee Rep. Eden Court in Inverness created 1920s themed Ragtime Picnics [pictured] which were presented in the stately gardens of the Castle of Mey, Dunvegan Castle, Cawdor Castle and Ballindalloch Castle. With performances, live music, local school participation and plenty of opportunities to dress up and join in, these events were very popular. Back at Eden Court the Big Dance Show Highlands brought together groups from across the region to perform on the main stage. Macrobert in Stirling focused much of their activity around their Let’s Dance Festivals including performances and taster activity. They also ran an intergenerational community performance project – Bunty and Doris – with company in residence Barrowland Ballet. Macrobert also ran a Great Big Showcase featuring local groups performing in the theatre.
YDance, the national dance organisation for children and young people in Scotland, created the first ever Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival in Glasgow in July 2014. The festival brought together local, national and international youth dance talent in an exciting three-day programme of performances, workshops and wrap-around events. More than 400 dancers from 36 dance groups from Australia, Canada, England, India, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales performed over three nights at the festival. In the daytimes they participated in a worldclass programme of workshops and development opportunities. Participants enjoyed an opening night ceilidh and on the final night participated in The Big Commonwealth Dance performance in Buchanan Street, Glasgow.
The Festival gave the young people a unique opportunity to share skills and learn new styles with their international peers, creating bonds between young people from different nations through a shared love of dance. Audiences at Tramway experienced an exciting and entertaining programme by a wealth of young dance talent including new performances by the National Youth Dance Companies of Scotland, England and Wales. In addition to the main programme which featured 12 different performance groups each night, the Festival also presented Jumping Into The Unknown – a showcase for new dance works created by young choreographers involved in the Hothouse Choreographic Residency Project which YDance runs in partnership with Scottish Ballet, and a Festival Dance Film Night featuring a programme of short dance films made by or involving young people.
36 dance groups from 10 countries All three evening performances and Jumping into the Unknown sold out
Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival
400 participants performed in The Big Commonwealth Dance on the closing night
The Big Commonwealth Dance
The Big Commonwealth Dance: Beats for Peace by internationally renowned choreographer Rafael Bonachela took place on Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July marking the equinox of The Big Dance Weekend and the closing of the first ever Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival. This major dance film commission linked dancers in Trafalgar Square, Buchanan Street Glasgow and outside the Sydney Opera House which through live linkup connected three international cities – London, Glasgow and Sydney and the film by Leopard Films shows how unique the experience was.
500 dancers in Glasgow 3000 dancers around the world Everybody smiled, despite the rain!
The Big Commonwealth Dance: Beats for Peace was produced by the Mayor of London, Sydney Dance Company and Get Scotland Dancing as part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme. Also supported by Australia Council, the City of Sydney, Sydney Opera House and Ausdance NSW.
Festival 2014
During the 2014 Commonwealth Games the city of Glasgow came alive with Festival 2014, a huge cultural celebration. Dance featured across the city with specially commissioned Culture 2014 projects and performances and tasters as part of the Merchant City Festival and on the Glasgow Green Live Site. As part of Glasgow Green’s Celtic Day, Get Scotland Dancing programmed the main stage with traditional and contemporary twists on traditional Scottish dancing. Groups included the Scottish Dance Teachers Association, Dance HQ – Gallus Stooshie, Danscentre and the Angela Watson School of Dance. Crowds basked in wonderful sunshine and were appreciative of the original and inventive performances. On BBC at the Quay’s Live Site, Get Scotland Dancing presented a day of dance hosted by Carrie Grant. Performances and tasters on the main stage included Dance Ihayami, the Mini Jackers, The Kennedy Cupcakes, Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing, Siamsoir, Collective, MAD Crew, Psycho Stylez Crew, the Flying Jalepenos and Centrestage. Workshops for young dancers, older adults and babies were offered in the small tent. Also as part of the wider Festival 2014 and Culture 2014 programmes participants had the chance to join in with major dance commissions and events. Opening on Commonwealth Day in March 2014 Janice Parker’s Glory worked with a diverse cast from Glasgow's Commonwealth to celebrate performers, bodies, the pursuit of excellence and alternative forms of the elite in movement.
Squash merged with dance in Squish Squared, a performance and education project presented by Room 2 Manoeuvre (R2M) in squash courts across Scotland. Based on the theme of day to day competition each performance was followed by dance and squash tuition for the audience. Scottish Dance Theatre brought the city of Dundee to life with projections of giant toddlers, a pop-up park and groundbreaking collaborations with internationally renowned artists. Dancing City celebrated the perpetual motion of the City by exploring and animating collective and individual journeys. Produced by Dance House, Dancing City brought together professional artists and nearly 200 Glasgow citizens, from windowcleaners to cyclists to parents with buggies. The resulting film was screened extensively across the City during Festival 2014. Scotch Hoppers from stillmotion was a performance event inspired by childhood street games, such as hopscotch, that linked art and sport with physical play to create a new game. It was presented in a participatory family friendly playground in Glasgow’s Merchant City. Marc Brew’s new integrated outdoor work (i)Land explored isolation, humanity, ingenuity and invention and a big pile of sand! The work was presented during Festival 2014 in the Merchant City and toured extensively to other festivals. Inspired by historical and personal stories of journeys between Commonwealth countries, The River was created and performed by Barrowland Ballet's professional ensemble alongside a large community cast and community choir under the artistic direction of Natasha Gilmore.
The Four Seasons
Over the past four decades, Scotland has been a world leader in community dance. To celebrate this, and to tie into this pivotal year in the country’s development, The Four Seasons dance project was brought to life as part of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and Culture 2014. This project marked the return to Scotland of reknowned dance makers Royston Maldoom and Tamara McLorg. Young people from Aberdeenshire were invited to create this new dance performance inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Marrying the North-East’s reputation for ‘four seasons in one day’ with Vivaldi’s most famous score, the project culminated in a performance at the Arts Centre & Theatre as a prelude to the Aberdeen International Youth Festival.
Over two weeks, three local groups of dancers with varying levels of experience worked on the project in their home locations, coming together as a single company in Aberdeen. As well as leading the artistic vision Royston and Tamara created some of the dances including the opening and closing movements of the performance. They also worked intensively with the four Scottish dance artists and four assistants for a week to set the overall choreographic framework for the performance. The remaining movements were split between the three groups, each working for a fortnight with a Dance Artist and assistant creating their own choreography, with Royston and Tamara visiting and working with each group as mentors. The combination of all the resulting pieces was presented as one complete performance – The Four Seasons.
Dance Development Officers GSD recognises that getting more people dancing is a complex and intricate task requiring lots of local knowledge and attention. Dance Development Officers are dance activists who have a huge impact in their areas and have catalysed the creation of some of our established dance agencies. GSD has funded four new posts through partnerships with local authorities and arts organisations in four areas that were previously lacking dance development provision.
Youth Dance Creators A full time DDO in Perth & Kinross works in partnership with Perth & Kinross Council and Horsecross. In the Western Isles, two part-time DDOs cover the diverse geography of the area in partnership with An Lanntair and Ceolas. A full time DDO for Inverclyde [pictured] is based within the Beacon Arts Centre. A new partnership between Fife Council, Fife NHS and On at Fife has placed a new full time DDO in Fife.
Recognising that there is a need for young people to play a more active role in developing dance provision for children and young people in Scotland. YDance have been working with inspiring young people across Scotland who promote and advocate for youth dance on a local and national level – addressing the Get Scotland Dancing initiative from a young person’s point of view.
Youth Dance Creators are located in areas without dedicated Dance Development Officers, are 16-21 years old and are partnered with a local mentor. The Creators meet for activity and training weekends where they dance and learn about project planning, budgeting, marketing and running events. Each Creator has a cash budget to put on events in their own area which they also evaluate and appraise with the other Creators.
Gathered Together Festival Over four days in August Scotland’s leading inclusive dance development company, Indepen-dance, hosted the country’s first International Inclusive Dance Festival as part of Get Scotland Dancing and the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme. The Festival brought together dance artists and people from across the globe to share best practice and knowledge as well as showing work, including workshops, panel discussions, presentations and performances culminating in a ceilidh on the Saturday night.
Keynote speeches were presented by Dr Jenny Elliot (Artscare / Orbit Dance Company) on dance and well being; Professor Sarah Whatley (Centre for Dance Research) on training opportunities in dance for people with disabilities and Gustavo Fijalkow (M.A. Arts Management) on working in dance across the world. Practical workshops with some of the leading disabled artists including members of Axis Dance Company (USA), Onil Vizciano (Spain), Caroline Bowditch (Scotland) and Amy Butler of StopGap Dance. The performance programme featured artists from across the world including the UK première of Axis Dance Company’s Divide choreographed by Marc Brew and work by StopGap Dance Company, Indepen-dance’s own dance companies and others from around the UK and Europe.
Get Dancin’ Get Scotland Dancing partners across Scotland offered free taster classes so the public could try a dance class near them. After running a pilot week in January 2014 the main initiative was launched in March by Humza Yousaf, Minister for External Affairs and International Development [pictured]. Some providers offered specific taster classes, others offered space in their existing classes. Providers were supported with marketing materials and PR advice, many of them gained local media coverage for the first time because they were part of a national initiative.
“We were amazed by the popularity of the adult ballet tasters which we titled Hit the Barre. We ran three workshops each with 16 participants; some had danced as children, some had even trained in dance as teenagers, and some had no previous dance experience at all! The workshops were absolutely amazing and we all had a blast. The feedback was extremely positive, so much so that we have put three classes into our regular timetable and they are full already! We also had eight ladies join our existing adult tap dancing class.” Amanda Clark, Central Scotland Ballet School
Photo credits in order of appearance Get Scotland Dancing press launch Colin Hattersley The World’s Biggest Tea Dance, Dance Base, Edinburgh Maria Falconer Do Your Thing Class, Dundee Dance Partneraship Vicky Wilson The Big Dance Pledge, Edinburgh event Drew Farrell The Commonwealth Ceilidh Various images submitted from events around the world Dance-along Movie: Grease, Edinburgh Francesca Dymond Dance-along Movie: Dirty Dancing, Aberdeen James Allenby Underhand Dance’s Held Up, Macrobert’s Let’s Dance Festival, Stirling Brian Hartley Ragtime Picnic, Eden Court Ewen Weatherspoon Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival, YDance Paul Watt The Big Commonwealth Dance, Glasgow Leask Photography Festival 2014, Glasgow Green James Allenby The Four Seasons, Aberdeen International Youth Festvial Simon Scott The Big Dance Pledge The Beacon Arts Centre Youth Dance Creators, YDance Yvonne Young Gathered Together Festival, Indepen-dance Brian Hartley Get Dancin’ launch Colin Hattersley The Barrowlands Prokect, Michael Clark Company/Dance House, Glasgow Hugo Glendinning
Get Scotland Dancing is an initiative led by Creative Scotland and was delivered by: Anita Clark, Portfolio Manager Katy McKeown, Development Officer (to 2013) James Allenby, Project Manager (from 2013) Louise Hutson, Project Co-ordinator (2014)
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