For the first time, the iconic Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will work with gifted and talented young dancers from Centres for Advanced Training across the UK, in a new partnership between Dance Consortium and DanceEast. As one of the world’s best dance companies, it is set to inspire some of the UK’s best aspiring dance students from the end of August until 2 September 2016. As a four-day intensive, 45 young dance students will build on the relationship between Dance Consortium and the world-famous Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. DanceEast will host the intensive and is working on the behalf of the ten National Centres for Advanced Training in Dance (CATs) Partnership.
This artistic exchange will mark the first time Dance Consortium has undertaken a talent development programme for young people in partnership with DanceEast and one of its visiting dance companies. All ten centres will take part: DanceEast CAT (Ipswich); Dance City CAT (Newcastle); The Lowry CAT (Salford); Northern Ballet Academy (Leeds); CAT at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (Leeds); Dance4 CAT (Nottingham); DanceXchange Centre for Advanced Dance Training (Birmingham); The Place CAT, including London Youth Circus National Centre for Circus Art; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance CAT (Greenwich, London); and Swindon Dance – Youth Dance Academy (Swindon).
The participating students from around the country will take daily class focusing on the Horton Technique, learn Ailey repertoire and choreography, discuss the history of the company and work towards a sharing. The intensive will therefore offer the next generation of dance artists an exciting experience with a world-famous dance company, and will promote an international perspective on diversity and the legacy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for contemporary dance.
The intensive's faculty will form a legacy of inspiration for the next generation of performing artists, enabling some of the UK's best dance students to be coached by one of the world's best dance companies. It is hoped the intensive will be the first of many, aiming to inspire and enlighten as the young students move closer to a career in dance.