Course session details and dates
Inclusive Approach 1: Inclusive ethos and barriers with Laura Jones
Tuesday 18 April 2023 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Laura 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.
Dancing for and with Visually Impaired young people with Holly Thomas & Freya Spencer
Tuesday 25 April 2023 | 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.
Learning differently with Cherie Brennan & Hannah Sampson
Tuesday 2 May 2023 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Community Engagement Artist Cherie Brennan and Senior Dance Artist Hannah Sampson will co -lead this informative, practical and fun session. Drawing from Hannah’s lived experience of learning to dance with a learning disability 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 9 May 2023 | 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 16 May 2023 | 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 us, through using the inclusive dance tool of ‘Translation’.
Inclusive Approach 2: Open Language and an Introduction to IRIS with Laura Jones
Tuesday 23 May 2023 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
Inclusive Dance expert Laura Jones introduces why and how we use open language when teaching a group of young dancers with diverse bodies and minds. Laura will also discuss 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.
Exploring Inclusive Dance Practice from a D/deaf perspective with Sara Marshall-Rose
Tuesday 6 June 2023 | 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.
Neurodiversity in dance with Lily Norton & Laura Jones
Tuesday 13 June 2023 | 6pm – 8pm | £35
In this session, Lily Norton shares their lived experience as an autistic artist and dancer to help introduce the concept of neurodiversity. Encouraging you to develop awareness and acceptance of neurodivergence, recognising the strength and creativity of neurodivergent people, alongside understanding some of the barriers to learning and challenges we face. Lily co-delivers this session alongside Laura Jones, who has worked closely with neurodivergent dancers, and shares inclusive approaches to teaching that acknowledge and support neurodivergent dancers and learners.
Sensory Moves with Nicky Norton
Tuesday 20 June 2023 | 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.
Inclusive Approach 3: Finding a Balance with Laura Jones
Tuesday 27 June 2023 | 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.
Connecting with ‘hard to reach’ young people through dance with Hannah Martin-Reilly
Tuesday 4 July 2023 | 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. It will draw from my experience of working with some of Hampshire’s most vulnerable young people, but the thoughts and discussions raised could be easily transferred and applied to other contexts of dance teaching.
Inclusive Approach 4: Round-up & Networking with Laura Jones
Tuesday 11 July 2023 | 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.