RJC Dance

RJC Dance Artists 🔥

We are sharing some of the inspiring artists RJC Dance works alongside, from choreographers and performers, to designers and actors.

Rhian Kempadoo-Millar has worked with RJC Dance since 2001 to produce sustainable carnival from concept to physical costume for troupes, running design, skills building, wire bending, frame building, silk painting and textiles workshops. Her designs are heavily influenced by her Into-Caribbean heritage which can be seen in the contemporary re-imagining of traditional characters and aesthetics. Her creative vision, production quality and connection to the projects she takes on is inspiring and valued from everyone at RJC Dance.

Read more about Rhian and her work with RJC Dance on our Artists Page: www.rjcdance.org.uk/profiles/artists

Arts Council England Leeds City Council Leeds Community Foundation Child Friendly Leeds One Dance UK THE OFFICIAL LEEDS WEST INDIAN CARNIVAL PAGE

Today is Mandela Day, a chance to reflect on the work and commitment of Nelson Mandela.

This day is a call to action for individuals, communities, and organisations to take time to make a positive impact in their own communities. It is the vision of the Nelson Mandela Foundation to urge you to identify those in need around you and do what you can to make a difference for them.

“It is in your hands, to make a better world for all who live in it.” - Nelson Mandela


Nelson Mandela Foundation

Arts Council England Leeds City Council Leeds Community Foundation Child Friendly Leeds Jamaica Society Leeds

THANK YOU 🙏

A huge thank you to all individual donors who supported RJC Dance https://bit.ly/3VklkmO National Festival fundraising appeal.

Your generous donations mean that Shahck Out Youth Dance got to represent Yorkshire and shine on the national stage!

Arts Council England One Dance UK Leeds Community Foundation Leeds City Council Inner North East Community Committee Child Friendly Leeds

THANK YOU 🙏

A spotlight on RJC Dance volunteer, parent and adult community class member Avril Archilbald-Rose!

Avril ran the Manchester Marathon this April to raise funds for RJC Dance. The Manchester Marathon is a long-distance running event in Greater Manchester, England and is the fourth largest marathon event in Europe!

Avril crossed the finish line, with a big smile, in 4 hours 51 minutes and 27 seconds – a personal best!

Read her inspiring story on our blog: https://bit.ly/4eZKSxu

THANK YOU 🙏

We are so grateful for our incredible donations from two corporate sponsors, Creative Financial Management & Duck Soup Management.

Creative Financial Management:
Creative Financial Management Ltd has over 25 years’ experience in offering personal financial advice. They think outside the box, exploring every angle and offering a range of financial solutions, each tailored to suit your unique situation no matter how large or small.

Duck Soup Films:
Duck Soup Film is a home for talent to accomplish their vision with ease and integrity. Producing bold, authored content for Film and TV, Duck Soup Films’ projects aim to take global audiences on an entertaining and thought-provoking journey exploring contemporary and resonant themes.

RJC Dance Director, Kathy Williams MBE, OLY, RJC Dance Original member De-Napoli Clarke and Sue Sutton were excited and thrilled to attend Paloma Faith, Sounds of the City concert at Millenium Square on Sunday 7 July 2024.

Singer, Songwriter, Actress and British Superstar, Paloma Faith, was a member of RJC Dance youth group in Brixton, London in the mid-late 90’s, participating in RJC Dance workshops and curtain raisers for our professional touring dance company.

It is always a pleasure to reconnect with RJC Dance youth members locally, nationally and internationally and celebrate their successes!

Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage are looking for Volunteer Gallery Invigilators to support our upcoming exhibition, 100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark.

100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark is an exciting project, celebrating the stories of Black British women who have made a significant positive change in activism, arts, education, politics, science and technology.

The Volunteer Gallery Invigilator will be a central point of contact for visitors and providing a warm welcome. We are looking for volunteers to invigilate the gallery and enhance the visitor experience. Within your role, you will provide information about the 100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark project. Volunteers will be provided with training and guidance for invigilating the exhibition.

The exhibition for 100 Black Women Who Have Made A Mark will run from 1 October 2024 - 4 January 2025 at Leicester Gallery, which is located at the De Montfort University campus. The Volunteer Gallery Invigilators are required only for the duration of the exhibition.

The deadline to apply is Friday 30 August 2024, 5:00pm BST.

You can find the expression of interest form and further information at the link below:

https://eu1.hubs.ly/H0b2LBr0

🌟 🌟 🌟 Why were we chosen for U. Dance?

Here is what the judging panel said about our performance:

"Brilliant! So slick, so much energy and so much fun! A captivating performance blending dance styles. Excellent group formations with bodies and pom poms. The dancers kept the energy up. All the dancers were profiled equally and we saw their personalities. Fab!"

We are coming for you Liverpool! 🌟 🌟 🌟

One Dance UK

A youth dance festival like no other is only 1 week away! 😱🎉

There's still time to grab your tickets for the U.Dance National Festival. Showcase tickets are selling fast! Buy now 🎟https://www.onedanceuk.org/programmes/udance/udance-national-festival

Thank you to our U.Dance National Festival 2024 Bronze and Access Sponsor, Trinity Laban and U.Dance National Festival 2024 partners The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and LMA.

📸 U.Dance National Festival 2022, One Dance UK, Dani Bower

☀️ FREE Summer Dance Camp ☀️

Our Summer Dance Camp is now open for bookings for young people aged 9-17 years new to RJC Dance! This is a FREE dance camp, thanks to the Leeds City Council Inner North East Community Committee.

For more information and to book your child's place, click here https://bit.ly/3S2Nb82 or email [email protected] to book in!

There are limited free places so to avoid disappointment, early booking is advised.

Leeds Community Foundation Child Friendly Leeds One Dance UK

Photo Credit: Oliver Dixon Photography

RJC Dance Artists 🔥

We are sharing some of the inspiring artists RJC Dance works alongside, from choreographers, performers, designers to actors.

You can't walk through the halls of the Mandela Centre or have a conversation about RJC Dance without mentioning Nillanthie Morton! Nillanthie is part of the heartbeat of this organisation, from Youth Provision member to lead tutor and choreographer, we are so proud to have him on board.

Read more about his experience and get to know more about him on our Artists Page: https://bit.ly/44xrhQ8

Arts Council England Leeds Community Foundation One Dance UK

💥 Shahck Out Youth Dance @ Beeston Festival 2024 💥

Thank you to Beeston Festival for having us for the second year running!

It was a great day to have some of the members of Shahck Out Youth Dance perform their energetic and vibrant Carnival piece, choreographed by Nillanthie Morton.

Watch the full performance here: https://bit.ly/4eF4Q0c

See you next year!


Arts Council England Leeds City Council Leeds Community Foundation Child Friendly Leeds One Dance UK

💥CARNIVAL SCHOOLS WORKSHOP 💥

We had a fantastic time at Meadowfield Primary School delivering Carnival themed dance workshops to year 3 students, embedded with RJC Dance cultural education and sharing knowledge surrounding Leeds West Indian Carnival and founder Dr Arthur France.

Take a look at these fantastic headpieces they made! ✨

Thank you to the fabulous staff and children of Meadowfield Primary school!

🚢 Windrush Commemoration - Where Youth Meets History, Heritage & Culture' 🚢

76 years ago today, the HMT Empire Windrush docked in Southampton, England. Today we celebrate the incredible people from this generation that settled here in our community.

On 22 June last year, Shahck Out Youth Dance performed 'Wild Youth', choreographed and adapted by Nillanthie Morton, at The New Testament Church, Harehills, Leeds as a moving tribute to the Windrush generation. The performance was well received by an audience of paritioners and community.

Here is a look back at the beautiful performance by Shahck Out Youth Dance: https://bit.ly/4b18QF2

One Dance UK Arts Council England Leeds Community Foundation Jamaica Society Leeds Thewindrushfoundation

RJC Dance Windrush Performance June 2023 What a wonderful performance and tribute to the Windrush Generation, as performed by our very own Shahck Out Youth Dance at The New Testament Church here in ...

We are elated to announce that RJC Dance was awarded the Community Arts Award at the Yorkshire Choice Awards 2024. It was an exciting night, meeting so many inspiring organisations and heroes.

Thank you to everyone in our community and beyond who took the time to vote for RJC Dance. This award means so much to us. From the Trustees, staff team, children and young people, adults and elders, volunteers and everyone who has supported us along the way - we are so grateful to you!

Yorkshire Choice Awards

🏆 Bronze Arts Award Success 🏆

We are super proud that 18 members of RJC Dance Youth Provision session Shahck Out Thursdays have successfully completed their Bronze Arts Award! The Arts Award process was led by RJC Dance Project Coordinator and trained Arts Award Advisor, Kiran Kumar, commencing in April 2024 for 7 weeks during Shahck Out Thursdays regular sessions at the Mandela Centre.

During this time, young members created an arts portfolio in creativity and arts practice, developing skills in researching artists, participating in dance sessions, observing and analysing different art forms and sharing their own arts skills.

A huge well done! 🤩

Leeds Community Foundation Leeds City Council Inner North East Community Committee Child Friendly Leeds Arts Council England

We're thrilled to share our incredible progress after just one week of fundraising for Shahck Out to Shine - getting our performers to U Dance Nationals! Your support has been absolutely amazing, and we couldn't be more grateful! 🙌

We have raised £710 towards our £3,000 goal, and we're just getting started! To keep the momentum going, we need your help 🌟✨

How You Can Help:

🌟Share this post with your friends and family.
🌟Tag someone who would love to support our cause.
🌟Donate if you haven't already – every bit counts!

Thank you for being the heartbeat of our campaign.

☀️ FREE Summer Dance Camp ☀️

Our Summer Dance Camp is now open for bookings for young people aged 9-17 years new to RJC Dance! This is a FREE dance camp, thanks to the Leeds City Council's Inner North East Community Committee.

For more information and to book your child's place, click here https://www.rjcdance.org.uk/class/107 or email [email protected] to book in!

There are limited free places so to avoid disappointment, early booking is advised.

Leeds Community Foundation Leeds City Council Inner North East Community Committee Child Friendly Leeds One Dance UK

Photo Credit: Oliver Dixon Photography

🌟 Support Shahck Out to Shine 🌟

We are incredibly proud that RJC Dance Youth Provision members, Shahck Out Youth Dance have been selected to represent Yorkshire at the prestigious U.Dance National Festival 2024, taking place this July in Liverpool. They need your support to make their dream a reality. As a charity, RJC Dance must raise £3,000 by 12 July to cover the costs of transportation and accommodation in Liverpool.

You can help us by heading to the link in the comments 👇

Any contribution helps!

One Dance UK

🚨 We've been selected for U.Dance National Festival 2024! 🚨

We are thrilled to finally share the news that Shahck Out Youth Dance have been selected to perform at ! As a charity, we will need your support to get there. More information coming next week on how your donation can get us to the national stage!

Thank you to One Dance UK for this incredible opportunity!

🌼 RJC Dance Artists 🌼

We are sharing some of the inspiring artists that work with RJC Dance, from choreographers and performers to designers and actors.

Shahada Nantaba Sekajja ( She / they ) is a non-binary movement artist. They are passionate in empowering young people through the use of movement and mindful practices.

Please read more about her experience and get to know more about her on our Artists Page: https://bit.ly/44xrhQ8
Please read more about her experience and get to know more about her on our Artists Page - Link in Bio

Arts Council England Leeds City Council Leeds Community Foundation One Dance UK

Photo credit: Oliver Dixon

🚨 Half Term Break! 🚨

A friendly reminder that there are no sessions or camps this week at RJC Dance. Sessions will resume week commencing Monday 3 June.

Enjoy your half term break! 💫

Photo Credit: Oliver Dixon

🌍 Happy Africa Day! 🌍

Today is an opportunity to celebrate African diversity and success and to highlight the cultural and economic potential that exists on the African continent. We celebrate today through honouring our heritage and unity through dance.


Arts Council England Leeds Community Foundation Leeds City Council Inner North East Community Committee Jamaica Society Leeds Leeds Black Elders Association Child Friendly Leeds One Dance UK

✨STUDIO AVAILABLE FOR HIRE ✨

Did you know you can hire our dance studio?

RJC Dance Studio is a high quality, multi-purpose rehearsal and performance space for the City of Leeds. Our flexible studio space is 18metres x 12metres and fully accessible with a sprung Harlequin dance floor.

The first floor space includes retractable, stepped seating for up to 74 people, producing a performance space of 14metres x 12metres. We have a full black out capability, fixed wall mirrors (12metres x 2.4metres) to the top end of the studio, excellent sound and visual equipment and projection facilities with an automated, retractable 4metres x 1.5metres screen.

RJC Dance studio can be hired by the hour, day or week. There are flexible hourly charging rates.

Get in touch to enquire about availability.