Following on from our Encounters announcement last week, it’s time to start talking about Party in the Park 2018 on Saturday 7th July! Last year the event, hosted by Woking Borough Council, saw over 15000 visitors!

Dance Woking is curating the dance programme once more and we have many performances and workshops lined up from local dance schools, professional dance companies, primary and secondary schools. The Dance Woking Team is currently in schools teaching choreography and a flash mob and leading art sessions to create costume for the event. Keep a look out for announcements for more information on who will be performing this year!

Dance Woking will have performances appearing on the main stage, the cultural zone, the bandstand field and in our very own Encounters tent! As the final touches are made to the schedule for the day, we can reveal that Dance Woking will start the festivities with a huge dance parade at 12pm – not to be missed!

The theme will focus on the centenary of the end of World War 1 (1914-1918) as well as celebrating the achievements of leading suffragette Dame Ethel Smyth as we celebrate 100 years of women having the vote.

Party in the Park is the biggest event in the calendar and not one to be missed, open to everyone and completely FREE to attend! See you on the 7th July!

Event Details:

Venue: Woking Park, GU22 9BA

When: Saturday 7th July 2018, 12pm – 9pm

With just 43 days to go, it’s time to put the date in your diary and get excited for ENCOUNTERS 2018! Hosted by Dance Woking, Encounters is a fantastic warm-up event the week before Party in the Park to get Woking up on their feet and dancing!

Taking hold of Jubilee Square and Woking Town Centre, this year’s Encounters features our biggest dance parade to date with schools, community groups and dance schools performing through the high street! The event features our parade, dance performances, flash mob, professional performances, workshops and a fantastic performance from Woking Rock Choir to get the party started.

More information and announcements on each group featured will be announced in the coming weeks!

This year’s theme, linking with Party in the Park, is celebrating 100 years since the end of World War 1 and celebrating the Suffragette movement with 100 years since women got the vote!

So what are you waiting for? Get your family and friends together and get your dancing shoes on, we’ll see you on the 30th June!

Event Details:

Saturday 30th June 2018
1pm – 3pm
Jubilee Square, Woking Town Centre
Open to all, FREE to attend!

Encounters Video 2017!

Dance Woking have been delivering a weekly after school dance club to pupils at Maybury Primary School, where they are creating a piece to perform on the 19th June at our event ‘Different Pasts, Shared Future’. We found out how they are getting on so far..!

The group have been exploring the theme of home – creating movements and shapes to build homes, discussing their favourite activities to do at home, what we enjoy the most about going home, who we live with and the themes of comfort and welcoming people. So far the group has worked in small groups, and as a whole group to explore these ideas and in the coming weeks they will create duets. As well as creating the piece for the event, the group have been enjoying having the dance club every week at their school with Dance Woking Artist, Emily Neighbour.

‘We spend most of the session creating the piece, but we also have fun with warm up games, name games and free dancing at the end of the class! The group are really enjoying the sessions, especially as they have a performance to work towards!’ Emily Neighbour

Maybury Primary School will present their choreography at ‘Different Pasts, Shared Future’, a free cultural celebration event for Refugee Week, Tuesday 19th June at H.G. Wells Events and Conference Centre. Event details available here!

The event is in partnership with Woking Borough council and supported by funding from The Big Lottery Fund, Awards for All Scheme.

We are already getting excited for our Strictly Tea Dance, which returns with a Summer Special on Wednesday 6th June in partnership with Woking Borough Council!

The event will feature fun classes and workshops by professional duo ‘The Swingsters’ who will lead all the favourites from the Waltz to the Charleston. You do not need a partner to take part, whether you come alone or come with your friends, our professional dancers will take the lead and show you the steps! Also programmed into the day is seated dance led by Dance Woking Artist, Kate Finegan, enabling everyone to get dancing!

Strictly Tea Dance is a great social event to meet others from the local area, have fun and get moving! Suitable for all ages and abilities, all you need to take part is a passion for dance!

H.G. Wells Conference & Events Centre, Woking, GU21 6HJ
Wednesday 6th June 2018
1pm – 4pm
Registration from 12:30pm
Tickets: £3 (Includes tea and cake!)

Advance booking required:
Contact Georgie O’Hare at office@dancewoking.com or call 01483 495460

More Information Here!

Dance Woking are excited to announce ‘Different Pasts, Shared Future’, a cultural celebration event as part of National Refugee Week in partnership with Woking Borough Council.

The event will take place on Tuesday 19th June at the HG Wells Conference & Events Centre, at 6pm featuring dance performances, poetry, guest speakers, a visual art display, a film and food created by local community groups and schools.

Exploring the common theme of where is home and the places that we call home, Dance Woking are engaging and encouraging community groups, especially groups they have not worked with before, to exchange and share stories in a positive social environment. Starting this week, groups will be exploring ideas and creating art, movement and discussion based on the theme of where is home. Led by Dance Woking artists, the groups will use the sessions to work towards a performance or presentation of their work for the event.

Some of the groups that Dance Woking are working with include Maybury Primary School, DeVyne Dancers, Liaise Women’s Group and Brockhill Seated Dance Club! We will be releasing more information on each group and their creative processes weekly. Also working with us throughout the project and performing at the event is Amina Khayyam, professional dance artist. Dance Woking has received funding support from The Big Lottery, Awards For All scheme which has enabled us to deliver this project.

In celebrating the diverse communities in Woking through this project, Dance Woking hopes to build a stronger sense of community and to inspire active participation in the arts!

The event on Tuesday 19th June is open to everyone and free to attend.

Check out the event here!

Dance Woking are working with members of DeVyne Dancers to create choreography to perform at our cultural celebration event ‘Different Pasts, Shared Future’, in partnership with Woking Borough Council for National Refugee Week.

The group are working with Dance Woking artist, Emily Neighbour, over 4 weeks to create a piece and will have an extra rehearsal on the 19th June before performing. Using the theme of home and obstacles that can be faced before a home is created, the group are exploring three key themes of borders, travel and shelter. We checked in to find out how they are getting on…

‘The group are working really well together and are looking forward to performing at the event. So far we have looked at the themes of borders and travel and have created a lot of great material to use. We will spend the next few rehearsals refining and tweaking what we have created as well as looking at our last theme of ‘shelter’. We are using scarves for the performance, so have also spent some time getting used to working with a prop!’ Emily Neighbour

DeVyne dancers meet every Tuesday afternoon for Creative Dance sessions at The Vyne Community Centre in Knaphill. They work with a range of different dance artists throughout the year, and have a close connection with Dance Woking, participating and attending many of our workshops and performances. Their sessions are aimed for the older person, and they are always open for new members! Find out more information here.

Different Pasts, Shared Future                                                                                                            Tuesday 19th June, 6pm – 8pm                                                                                                                 H.G. Wells Conference & Events Centre

This event is FREE and open to all!

More Information for the event here