Young Norwich dancers take to the floor
Dynamic dancing and breathtaking beatboxing made a refreshing change from studying school books for almost 80 youngsters who made the most of half-term.
The Garage hosted a free week-long dance residence with re:Bourne, part of the Matthew Bourne dance company, which was attended by 11 young people, and a week-long musical theatre project fused with beatboxing, called Overdrive, which was enjoyed by almost 70 youngsters.
The week was the last stage of the Vocalise project, which has enabled The Garage to run singing workshops with hundreds of young people in youth clubs and community centres across the county with the help of Children in Need funding.
Darren Grice, executive director of The Garage, said: 'The young people were aged from eight to 19 and came from lots of different backgrounds, and they threw themselves at everything we did and responded fantastically.
'Their confidence has improved so much and their self-esteem has been given a huge boost, because they've realised how much they've achieved and been able to try things they'd never done before, like contemporary dance.
'During the Re:Bourne dance residency, they worked with two artists from the company on choreography from the version of Swan Lake that was recently performed at the Norwich Theatre Royal, and prepared about 25 minutes of repertoire, including the iconic scenes from the dance.'
The Vocalise project was funded by Youth Music, and will culminate in a performance outside City Hall in Norwich at the Christmas lights switch-on this year.
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The Garage is also looking for a Blueprint programme volunteer team assistant, who is aged between 18 and 25 and is able to give between three and five days a week over a three-month period.
The volunteer would work with a group of part-time volunteers to organise a creative project that benefits the local community as part of Blueprint, a regional youth volunteering project funded by the V for Volunteering charity.
For more information, visit www.thegarage.org.uk.
