Course module details and dates
Inclusive Approach 1: Inclusive ethos and barriers with Laura Jones
Tuesday 29 April 2025 | 6 – 8pm | £35
Our Co-Artistic Director, Laura Jones, will facilitate a discussion around Stopgap’s inclusive approach and ethos. This will include what we can learn from the social model of disability when planning our dance sessions, and how we can be aware of and work towards removing the many different barriers people can face when learning to dance.
Learning differently with Cherie Brennan & Hannah Sampson
Wednesday 30 April 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Community Engagement Artist Cherie Brennan and Senior Dance Artist Hannah Sampson will co-lead this informative, practical and creative session. Drawing from Hannah’s lived experience of learning to dance with Down’s Syndrome and Cherie’s extensive teaching experience, they will be guiding you through an example workshop and what to think about when teaching dancers with a learning disability.
Movement Tools and Aids with Laura Jones & Suzie Birchwood
Tuesday 13 May 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Laura will be joined by dancer, educator and choreographer, Suzie Birchwood and together they will talk through the variety of different movement aids and how best to support those using them. They will also share their own knowledge and experiences of working with crutches and other movement tools.
Movement Translation with Laura Jones
Tuesday 20 May 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Co-Artistic Director Laura Jones will share her lived experience as both a non-disabled dancer and as a wheelchair dancer. Laura will share how she learnt to translate traditional dance steps into relevant wheelchair dance movement. She will also give guidance to how teachers can best support and develop dancers who have a different physical language to them, through using the inclusive dance tool of ‘Translation’.
Inclusive Approach 2: Open Language and an Introduction to IRIS with Laura Jones
Tuesday 3 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Inclusive Dance expert Laura Jones introduces why and how we use open language when teaching a group of dancers with diverse bodies and minds. Laura will also introduce you to Stopgap’s inclusive dance syllabus for young people, IRIS; what it is, how it began and how you can get involved. Find out more about IRIS here.
Dancing for and with Visually Impaired Young People with Holly Thomas & Freya Spencer
Tuesday 10 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Join Holly Thomas and Freya Spencer in a session about teaching practice that facilitates the inclusion of dancers with visual impairments. We will cover basic etiquette and guiding techniques before homing in on some useful practices and measures that are dance specific. This will include teaching with set material, improvised work, and the use of somatic approaches and props.
Exploring Inclusive Dance Practice from a deaf perspective with Sara Marshall-Rose
Tuesday 17 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Sara is a deaf dancer who grew up surrounded by traditional music and dance. Sara specialises in performing and delivering, Appalachian clogging, body percussion, morris, maypole and ceilidh dance. She is also a Dance Movement Psychotherapist.
The session will be an opportunity to explore deafness through Sara’s lived experience as a hearing device user and non-signer and to consider ways of teaching and developing dance activities and practices that open up greater opportunities for deaf people to access dance.
Inclusive Approach 3: Finding a Balance with Laura Jones
Wednesday 18 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
In this penultimate Inclusive Approach session, Laura will share one of the hardest skills we as inclusive teachers face – balancing the needs of a group of diverse dancers. This will be a chance to reflect on all the sessions so far and learn from the 25 years teaching experience of the Stopgap team.
Exploring Inclusive Dance Practice from a Deaf perspective with Anna Seymour
Tuesday 24 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Anna Seymour shares her lived experience as a Deaf dance artist. Anna will introduce the concept of Deaf Gain and how that can be embraced by everyone (whether you are Deaf or not) in dancing, collaborating and performing. This session will include movement tasks and a facilitated conversation. Anna is a profoundly Deaf person who primarily communicates in sign language. This session will be delivered in BSL with a BSL/spoken English interpreter.
Neurodiversity in dance with Lily Norton
Tuesday 25 June 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Lily Norton, an autistic artist and dancer, shares their lived experience to offer an insightful introduction to neurodiversity. Lily highlights the unique strengths, creativity, and perspectives that neurodivergent people bring to the dance world, while also exploring the ways in which we can better support diverse learning styles and needs. This session encourages a shift towards greater awareness, acceptance, and celebration of neurodivergence, inviting participants to embrace the rich diversity of minds and bodies in dance.
Sensory Moves with Nicky Norton
Tuesday 1 July 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Nicky Norton shares her experiences of working with young people who have profound and multiple learning Disabilities. The session will explore the power and joy of sensory, responsive dance teaching and will involve working with sensory props.
Connecting with ‘hard to reach’ young people through dance with Emma Hill
Tuesday 8 July 2025| 6pm – 8pm | £35
This session will focus on identifying what ‘hard to reach’ means and will explore a dialogue around what approaches can be used to help hard to reach young people feel safe in a learning environment.
Inclusive Approach 4: Round-up & Networking with Laura Jones
Tuesday 15 July 2025 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
In the final Seedbed session, Laura will reflect on all that has been learnt from both Stopgap and external teachers. This will also be a session to network with others, sharing ideas and thoughts.