Press Release: Dance continues to shine in Leeds

[Jan McNulty]

Dance continues to shine in Leeds

 
A year ago six dance organisations came together to highlight the strength of dance in Leeds, its contribution to the local economy and its reach and influence on a national and international level. Now the original partners: Balbir Singh Dance Company, Northern Ballet, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre, RJC Dance and Yorkshire Dance, have been joined by Dance Action Zone Leeds (DAZL) and Leeds Beckett University in an updated map which shows the work and reach of these groups in the year 2013/14: www.cityofdance.co.uk.
 
The map, launched in March 2014 with an event at Leeds’ Civic Hall, aims to show the reach, engagement and economic and social impact of dance in Leeds. The updated version of the map shows that in 2013/14 almost 300,000 people watched a live dance performance by the partners involved in the dance map; almost 75,000 people took part in a dance workshop or project; almost 600 people were employed on a full-time, part-time or freelance basis and income and investment generated by these eight companies exceeded £11.9 million. These statistics are only one part of a much larger picture of people taking part in dance throughout the city.
 
David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of Northern Ballet says, “Once again Leeds has demonstrated that, outside of London, it is the UK’s City of Dance. We are working together to build a Dance Hub for the North with Leeds at its core. Both Arts Council England and Leeds City Council have underlined their commitment to dance by continuing to support the dance organisations in the city and, as work takes place behind the scenes to develop plans to cement Leeds’ position as the dance hub for the North, we look forward to playing a major part in Leeds City Council’s bid for Capital of Culture 2023.”
 
Ian Rodley, Director of DAZL says, “Young people and health are at the heart of what we do here at DAZL and the importance dance plays in the health of Leeds cannot be underestimated. We wanted to be a part of the City of Dance Map to highlight our work bridging the gap between professional companies and the cities most deprived communities, and the contribution it makes to a wider dance community in Leeds which is influencing dance on a national and international level.”
 
In February, Dance UK, the national voice for dance, launched the 2015 Dance Manifesto. With the title Dance: A Great British Success Story, it celebrates and highlights the extraordinary contribution dance has made to the UK over the past few years showcasing dance as a UK success story:  https://www.danceuk.org/campaigning/dance-manifesto-2015/
 
This weekend the BBC held a Dancing Beebies event at Leeds Trinity shopping centre where Northern Ballet, DAZL, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, SAA-UK, Academy of Northern Ballet, Phoenix Youth Academy and Yorkshire Dance came together to perform to thousands of people who attended a day of dance workshops and performances, once again showcasing Leeds as a dancing city.