Local students to stage contemporary dance performance at Willow Brook

Students from two local schools will be staging a unique dance performance at the Willow Brook shopping centre in Bradley Stoke on Monday afternoon (28th April).

The student dancers, from Meadowbrook Primary School and Patchway Community College, will be wearing colourful costumes and performing fun, contemporary dances with a retro 60s teenager theme. The performance lasts around 10 minutes and will be staged at 2.30pm, 3.15pm and 4pm.

The event (along with others in Kingswood and Yate) is part of an innovative project called New Town which brings contemporary dance to unexpected locations in order to surprise and entertain onlookers. Students from seven South Gloucestershire schools and two dance academies have been working with internationally renowned choreographer Rosie Whitney-Fish to create dance pieces which capture what they feel is special about their local community.

Rosie Whitney-Fish and her team of dance leaders have been working with the students over seven weeks to create these special performances. Rosie likes to take dance to unusual locations to engage with new audiences and believes dance doesn’t need lighting or staging and can happen anywhere. Whether she’s creating a film for Italian Vogue, a show for Sassoon in Tokyo or drawing inspiration from pupils in South Gloucestershire, Rosie creates work that captures the essence of the place and people.

Ms Whitney-Fish said:

“I have been so inspired by the students and their ideas to create work which is personal to them and their sense of place. It has been a delight to explore what living in South Gloucestershire means to them. I can’t wait to share it with everyone else who lives here.”

Hayley Adams, South Gloucestershire Council’s Strive Dance Project Officer, said:

“We were delighted to receive support from Arts Council England for this project. The opportunity to work with a professional choreographer has really stretched the pupils’ creative development and aspirations.”

For further information, visit Dance South Gloucestershire on Facebook.

Source: Press release from South Gloucestershire Council.