Community

Although we understand what dance means to you physically and mentally, we also know that not everyone has the means to enjoy it regularly. So, we have started a dance school bursary programme, which offers financial support to Wandsworth residents to attend our classes.

Find out how you can donate to support our bursary programme.

We also understand how beneficial dance can be for older people, offering the chance to socialise and enjoy movement designed for them. As such, we offer discounts on all of our classes for older learners at our headquarters, these include:

• Move to the Musicals
• Silver Swans
• RAD Dance for Life class

At our core, we are a membership organisation, so whether you are a dance teacher, are interested in dance, or just someone who lives locally – we have something for you. We have a discount on our RAD Membership and RAD Membership Plus for residents at an address in the following postcodes: SW11 1, SW11 2, SW11 3, SW11 4, or SW11 5.

Find out more about membership.

Step into Dance is an inclusive dance programme we run in secondary schools and youth groups across London and Essex. In partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation, we offer regular dance classes that support the development of dance for young people, reaching those who might not otherwise have the opportunity. We want the schools and youth groups closest to us to take part in the programme, so we are offering bursaries for those in Wandsworth, who are struggling financially.

RADiate provides subsidised inclusive dance classes with specialised Dance Artists, to children with additional learning needs. The project works with children and young people on the autism spectrum, those with behavioural, emotional or social difficulties, and those with learning difficulties.

RADiate sessions take place in both mainstream and SEND-focused Primary schools and we’re hoping to increase the amount happening in our local schools.

We have partnered with DDMIX Trust, who have created a full-body dance fitness workout based on a range of dance styles with easy-to-follow steps, choreographed by Dame Darcey Bussell DBE and Nathan Clarke.

Last year we held two DDMIX dance festivals, inviting five primary school classes to come and have a taster of the exciting programme. We hope to continue hosting them, so if you would like to be put on a waiting list for the next one, please email our Community Partnership builder.

If you’d like your class like to visit our headquarters and see what we do, why not book a community tour?

Last January, we partnered with the Nine Elms Arts Ministry to host our first community tour for four local groups. This saw a primary school class, a youth club, and a group of older people, visit our headquarters. The tour started with a short presentation, a trip around the building, and an activity where our guests designed a bag while thinking about what dance meant to them.

As much as we love having our community dance with us at our headquarters, we know that it’s not possible for everyone. We want to partner with local artists, organisations, and groups to increase accessibility to dance. We want to co-create and support local dance or movement-based pilot projects for Wandsworth residents. The project would need to explore something new through dance, working with a new group, and a different genre, in a new space.

Every summer, the Wandsworth Arts Service puts together the Wandsworth Arts Fringe (WAF), a two-week festival of arts and culture throughout the borough. Every year we’re excited to see the borough buzzing with even more energy and life and we are always open to hosting artists at our headquarters. If you’re interested in hiring our space for WAF – or any other time – take a look to see what we have available.