YDance

Destinations 2018...✨️

Can you spot yourself? 👀

Our wonderful dancers and choreographers showed so much talent and passion during our HotHouse week intensive with ❤️‍🔥

From left to right we have:

Imogen (choreographer) & India (dancer)

Emily (dancer), Lucia (choreographer) & Layla (dancer)

Talya (choreographer) & Emily (dancer)

Emily Rose (dancer), Eve (choreographer) & Sam (dancer)

Happy Halloween✨🎃

If you have already tried our free Halloween lesson plan - let us know what you think!🫶🏻

Keep you eyes peeled for more free lesson plans this week🤩🔥

A Halloween treat for you all...🎃🍬

We have released a free educational Halloween resource on our website !😮

Head to the link and click on our 'Free Downloadable Teaching Resources' and try it out in your classroom... for free🔥

https://ydance.org/national-respur

Monthly Round Up - October✨

A week of pure talent🔥 - Our HotHouse choreographers and dancers took part in a week-intensive choreographic programme at the studios. We were all blown away by their final pieces

A big welcome🫶🏻 - We had our first NYDCS weekend with this year's new cohort! They all showed huge amounts of creativity and passion and we can't wait to welcome them back in November for a 2-day residency in Aberdeen

Out and About👟 - Our team have been out teaching ADL's and CLPL's this month. It was a pleasure to partner with East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture, for a CLPL in inclusive dance, and South Ayrshire Active Schools, for their Leadership Day ADL

DanceLive - Our executive director, Kelly, presented as part of the panel, discussing the impact of our Cashback on Track programme. It was a truly inspirational evening, thank you for having us

A trick or treat for you👻 - We will be releasing free educational resources on our website every month.. not kidding ! Check out our Halloween themed lesson plan that's linked in our bio🎃🍬

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Karis, one of our returning Horizons members!

Fun fact: Karis is very artistic and loves to craft🎨

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Embeth, one of our returning dancers

Fun fact: Embeth loves doing the Minions dance!💛

We just can't get enough of our outdoor performance photos from our x Nuremberg exchange✨️🇩🇪

Counting down the days until the next tour...👀

Credits - 📸

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Amelia, one of our returning dancers!

Fun fact: Amelia's favourite animal is a frog!🐸

Generation Dance Festival 2018✨️

Generation Dance was a collaborative piece between YDance and , working with young and older dancers to create a piece to be performed at The Tramway, as part of Festival 18 European Championships 🫶🏼🌟

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Liam, one of our returning dancers!

Fun fact: Liam enjoys seeing his friends🤩

Throwing it back to our x outdoor performance at the this summer🌞

Where would you like to see us travel to next year?🌎️✨️

A Halloween treat for you all...🎃🍬

We have released a free educational Halloween resource on our website !😮

Head to the link and click on our 'Free Downloadable Teaching Resources' and try it out in your classroom... for free🔥

https://ydance.org/national-respur

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Alexander, one of our new Horizons dancers!

Fun fact: Alexander is very cheeky. He likes to tell people he loves his twin sister, potatoes & cheese, then his Mum & Dad!!

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Darcey, one of our new Horizons dancers!

Fun fact: Darcey has been dancing for 12 years and loves musical theatre🎶

Last weekend, we had the joy of welcoming our brand new National Youth Dance Company of Scotland for our 2024/25 season❣️✨️

The dancers brought an inspiring mix of ambition and creativity to the 3 day residency at . We can’t wait their return next month, when we will head to Aberdeen for our 2 day residency at 🙌🏼

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Elsa, one of of our new dancers!

Fun fact: Elsa really loves Strictly Come Dancing 🪩

We have partnered with the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce to introduce a new paid work placement opportunity!

🌟Job Role - Research and Administrative Assistant

🌟Number of Hours Per Week - 21 hours per week for 26 weeks

🌟Wages - £12 p/h

Key Responsibilities:

Conduct detailed research on the Scottish census and SIMD data to identify priority areas for YDance projects.

Compile and analyse data to provide actionable insights for targeted project planning and resource allocation.

Identify and compile contact details of potential partner organisations -including those supporting young parents, young refugees, schools, community groups, and professional dance organisations.

Assist in developing reports and presentations based on research findings.

Support various administrative tasks, including data entry and maintaining databases.

Collaborate with team members to integrate research findings into project planning and ex*****on.

General administrative duties.

Eligibility criteria:

Aged 16 – 67
Unemployed and not in education
Barriers to employment such as having a disability, being in a racialised group, care leaver, criminal convictions, lone parent or being homeless and no or limited work experience.

(This is not a definitive list as there are many barriers.)

Glasgow City Council resident
Right to work in the UK

Please visit the link to find out more information:

https://glasgowchamberofcommerce.com/paid-work-placements/vacancies/ydance-scottish-youth-dance-research-and-administrative-assistant/

Please send an application form to [email protected]

Applications to be part in next years Destinations 2025 have officially launched🤩

Applications will close on the 19th of January 2025

Destinations is a fantastic opportunity for young dancers to showcase their dance styles and work to a live audience at one of Scotland’s leading performing arts venues and gain valuable performance experience. It also gives young people the chance to come together and meet other like-minded young dancers from across Scotland. Alongside the performance, there are workshops and panel discussions, as well as opportunities for the youth dance leaders to come together and chat.

Destinations is the only Scottish selection event for Youth Dance showcase, U.Dance. The U.Dance National Festival 2025 is scheduled to be held on 25-27 July 2025 in partnership with , at their fabulous new venue, Sadler’s Wells East in London’s Olympic Park.

Head over to to our website to apply - https://ydance.org/destinations-1

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Bella, one of our returning dancers!

Fun fact: Bella is super fit! She works out at the gym every week and is training for a 10k run🏃🏻‍♀️

NYDCS X NYDW

As part of National Youth Dance Wales Celtic Collective partnership, this year’s company includes a dancer participating in an exchange programme with . This initiative is designed to connect members of NYDW and NYDCS through a shared passion and desire to enhance their dance development and awareness of the sector, both nationally and internationally.

Maura, NYDW member and Celtic Collective exchange student said: “Having never been to Wales, it’s been such an experience travelling down to a new part of the UK. I’m quite a shy, reserved person, the residency has really made me come out of my shell due to it's intense schedule, wellbeing and social programme. The residency has left me feeling so good about myself. Meeting other NYDW members has taught me so much about professional training, which has been so helpful and I’ve now made supportive connections with other youth dancers all thanks to this residency and the work of Anna from NYDCS and Jamie from NYDW”.

Eira said: “I'm beyond excited to join the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland as part of the Celtic Collective exchange programme. The chance to work with such talented dancers and choreographers is truly incredible, and I can't wait to visit Scotland and immerse myself in this experience. I'm so thankful for this amazing opportunity”.

Credits -

Article: National Youth Arts Wales

Photography: Sian Trenberth

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Rachel, one of our returning dancers!

Fun fact: Rachel performed with her Makaton choir at the Scottish Parliament with the Bluebells🌟

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Nina, one of our new dancers!

Fun fact: Nina really loves Mama Mia and went to London this year to join in with the Mama Mia party!💃🏻

World Mental Health Day❣️

At YDance, we firmly believe that the benefits of dance are boundless, especially regarding its positive impact on mental health.
In addition to boosting dopamine levels through physical activity, dance enhances cognitive and motor functions, such as improving spatial awareness, developing functional movement pathways, and strengthening movement memory.

A vital element of each YDance session is the nurturing of social bonds. This emphasis on connection encourages positive exchanges, ignites motivation, and fosters a profound sense of belonging. Since April 2024, 77% of youth participants in our Cashback on Track sessions, have reported noticeable improvements in their mental health and have a more positive outlook on life.

"My mood always improves after YDance, Getting some exercise really helps my mental health" - CashBack Participant

“It's been good getting to work together to come up with ideas. Being in here distracts your brain from what's going on outside there. We're a heavy team now. Keen to make the dance happen.” - CashBack Participant

Meet our Horizons dancers🧡✨️

Meet Matilda, who is one of our returning dancers!

Fun fact: Matilda is an amazing singer and also has a book written about her called 'Matilda In The Middle'!📚️