Launched in the autumn of last year, the dance agency’s schools programme is reaching into classrooms across the city, introducing youngsters to dance and using movement to support the wider school curriculum.

This new focus on education is the latest step in a refreshed strategy for DanceXchange, which is based in the Birmingham Hippodrome campus. For more than 25 years, DanceXchange has supported the growth and development of dance in the Midlands, connecting people with great dance, nurturing young dancers and championing some of the UK’s most exciting choreographers – as well as producing the award-winning Birmingham International Dance Festival.

Now the new education project sees dance artists visiting schools throughout the academic year, working with teachers in primary, secondary and special needs schools. They offer a tailored programme that meets the specific needs of each school, with options including themed and topic-based learning, specialist sessions for GCSE and BTEC levels and Continuing Professional Development for teachers.

DanceXchange’s Executive Director Clare Lewis explains: “We are passionate about placing dance at the heart of the curriculum rather than positioning it on the periphery as part of PE. What we bring is the expertise to create a bespoke programme with each school.

“While a final performance could be an important goal, our focus is predominantly on the process itself and the learning journey the children are on. Their responses and their voices are respected so that they feel a true sense of ownership and achievement by the end of the programme.”

For some pupils, it is the first time they have taken part in organised dance activities.

“The children may see the sessions as a way to express themselves, they may develop dance as a hobby or they may find a real commitment to it,” says DanceXchange’s Head of Learning and Participation Alex Henwood. “The programme gives them the introduction to technical skills and creative expression so they can absorb the experience and use it for their own personal development.

“We enjoy taking a thematic approach and making sessions cross-curricular. For instance, we’ve been working on curriculum topics such as electricity and the weather, and we have also been working with groups on positive social interaction, empathy and well-being. Sessions begin by encouraging the children to think creatively, building on something they can relate to, for example the creative task might be ‘imagine you’re a soldier’ or ‘imagine you’re splashing around in a puddle’. Our dance artist then guides them to develop movement material around this, to shape their own choreography,” explains Alex.

The response to the new programme so far has exceeded expectations, with school teachers observing that the sessions have had a positive impact on the children, helping them to gain confidence beyond the classroom.

“We have found that many of the children have benefitted from increased self-awareness, getting to know themselves better and expressing themselves more confidently,” says Alex.

“Dance has also proved a perfect fit with schools’ well-being initiatives and can make a valuable contribution to pupils’ personal development as well-rounded individuals.

“Each child is unique and not every child has the chance to express their individuality within the school structure. We hope that dance allows those children to feel they have a chance to shine, find a new skill to excel in and express themselves.”

This year the initiative has taken a huge leap forward with a project connecting five Birmingham schools which will lead to a performance by around 500 children and young people at the city’s Town Hall in July. The work has been commissioned by Living Arts Network, supported by the West Midlands Bridge Organisation Arts Connect, and brings together pupils from five Roman Catholic Schools based in and around Chelmsley Wood – John Henry Newman Catholic College and St John the Baptist, St Thomas More, St Anne’s and St Anthony’s Primary Schools.

“It’s a creative dance and music project which centres on the themes of identity, belonging and community and uses the schools’ mottos as an artistic stimulus,” says Clare.

“For example one class has composed a really heartfelt and uplifting song around the John Henry Newman Catholic College motto ‘Heart speaks to heart’ – helping the young people to connect more deeply with their school values and also with one another. This song will be performed live by the students as well as being mixed to create a track for the dance piece they are soon to choreograph with our hip hop artist.

“It has been important to bring on board a team of artists who share our ethos and are able to work with the young people in a really bespoke way, so that each individual’s responses are heard and reflected in the making of each piece,” Clare adds. “For us, the value and legacy of this project is as much in the artistic process as it is in the final product. We want this to be a rich and engaging creative process for young people and teachers alike, and for them to own and be proud of what they share at the final performance event in July.”

For the DanceXchange team, working with schools is a vital way to engage the next generation in dance at a grassroots level and to develop the audiences, performers and leaders of the future.

“Our schools work can be a first step for children to discover they have a talent and a passion for dance – which we can then nurture through our training and talent development programmes Generate and the Centre for Advanced Training, providing young people with the tools to reach their potential as dancers,” explains Alex.

Successful CAT alumni include Vidya Patel, who was a finalist in BBC Young Dancer in 2015 and has been a guest artist with Richard Alston Dance Company. Vidya was also recently nominated for Outstanding Female Modern Performance at the 2018 National Dance Awards.

“Christian Griffin, another successful student, was talent-spotted on the streets of Birmingham where he was busking, doing hip hop,” recalls Alex. “He came to CAT, then went on to dance in National Youth Dance Company for two years and now he has set up his own street dance youth academy Brums Dynasty in Birmingham and is investing back into his community and the region, helping the next generation.”

It is success stories like those of Vidya and Christian which ensure DanceXchange will continue to foster young talent – whether this is in the school classroom or through its own training programmes.

“It’s really rewarding to know we are helping to create the next generation of successful dance artists who are highly skilled and really capable,” says Alex. “We see it as our job to find these young people with real talent and invest in them so they can go onto the next stage.”

Clare adds: “These young people are our reason for being. We want to inspire and facilitate their journey through dance, supporting talent right from the grass-roots, through engagement with those who want to enjoy dance just for itself, right through to encouraging excellence in young people who want to progress to careers in dance.”