Voices In Art And Schools In North Merthyr Present: The Big Dance Schools Pledge
POSSIB: Lleisiau Mewn Celf / Voices in Art and schools in North Merthyr present:
The Big Dance Schools Pledge
6 SCHOOLS; 500 PUPILS AND STAFF FROM NORTH MERTHYR TO PERFORM A
MASS PIECE OF CHOROEGRAPHY IN PENDERYN SQUARE, OUTSIDE
REDHOUSE IN MERTHYR TOWN CENTRE AT 1PM ON FRIDAY MAY 20TH.
The North Merthyr BIG DANCE Schools Pledge will celebrate the end of a short, high
energy Dawnsio’r Lingo / Dance the Lingo project. The aim of the project is to support
the learning of Welsh as a second language through dance!
Pupils in Goetre Primary, Greenfield School, Gwaunfarren Primary, Pantysgallog
Primary, St Aloysius RC Primary and Ysgol Gymraeg Santes Tudful have been busy
exploring the sounds of the Welsh language through movement. By piecing the sounds
and the movement together they’ve built sentences, both spoken and physical.
The project research is by Dr Ellie Byrne, Cardiff University, supported by the Pilot
Engagement Projects of City Region Exchange. The research is exploring how
dance and movement can help pupils to learn Welsh through embodied
methods, to complement traditional forms of learning. It has resulted from a
wider programme of research exploring the contribution that the arts and
creative methods can make to community based health research. For more
details about the research please contact Ellie on: ByrneE@Cardiff.ac.uk
POSSIB’s Jên Angharad, creator of the project says “This is about taking learning
language out of the classroom and into the body. Using physical movement to help
articulate what can be quite tricky sounds with confidence and laughter! Pupil
engagement has been fantastic, we’ve had a lot of fun learning words, discovering new
moves and passing them on from one school group to another until the dance is
complete”.
Now that the dance is complete, why not come along and support the pupils and
schools as they perform their dance as part of the Big Dance Schools Pledge. It’s a
short dance of 5 minutes and who knows, with encouragement from the Merthyr
community, the dance might be performed twice!
POSSIB is a bilingual arts project, funded by the Big Lottery, for school aged children,
parents and working aged men who live in North Merthyr. Its purpose is to explore
issues relating to health and wellbeing through arts practice. POSSIB is a Canolfan &
Theatr Soar project in partnership with 3Gs Development Trust and is one of seven
MAGNET Portfolio projects, overseen by Voluntary Action Merthyr Tydfil (VAMT).
The Big Dance Schools Pledge is a UK wide event managed by People Dancing, the
foundation for community dance. The 20th May is the Big Dance Worldwide
Performance day that will see groups in over 34 countries worldwide taking part in the
performance. The music has been especially created for the Big Dance Schools
Pledge by composer Nitin Sawhney.
POSSIB: Lleisiau Mewn Celf / Voices in Art acknowledges support for Dawnsio’r Lingo
and the Big Dance Schools Performance from The Big Lottery; Cardiff University;
Sports Wales Community Chest; Redhouse; The College Merthyr Tydfil and Merthyr
Tydfil County Borough Council.
www.theatrsoar.co.uk/ | Facebook: Prosiect Celfyddydau Possib Arts Project | Twitter:
@theatrsoar | @JenAngharad
Performance Information
Penderyn Square, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8AE
Date: 20h May 2016
Time: Open rehearsal 12.30pm. Performance 1pm
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