Introducing Matt Walker – A Dance Woking Supported Artist

Matt Walker did his professional training at the Urdang academy and is now an international dancer, choreographer, creative director and teacher with his weekly Ombrascura Dance company class taking place at London’s Base Dance Studios. Matts combined performance and choreographic credits include The XFactor, The Brit Awards, Chris Brown, Cheryl, One Direction, Mariah Carey, to name but a few, see Matt’s profile for more details.

Matt is very passionate about training the next generation of dancers and currently teaches not just all over the world as a guest choreographer but at many of the UKs top dance studios and colleges such as Italia Conti, Stella Mann, The Urdang Academy, GSA, Pineapple Studios and Base Studios.

He says of this opportunity: “ I am looking forward to building upon an already well established youth work programme and look forward to facilitating top level dance classes, access and opportunities throughout the borough alongside Dance Woking as a Supported Artist”.

“Gaining more creative and platform opportunities to showcase work, receiving feedback from like-minded artists, and working with even more aspiring artists means we can strive for greatness together”

Matt has chosen to focus on his dance company The Urban Dance School as part of showcasing his work. Matt created a fantastic behind the scenes video of their rehearsal time at Dance Woking’s ‘Slam’ performance in 2019.

The Urban Dance School teaches anyone and everyone to dance, from beginner to professional standard, aged between 5 to adult. The classes are friendly and enjoyable and focus on hip hop, Breakin, popping, house, waacking, locking, acro, improvisation and choreography. The classes are taught on a weekly basis across the south west of England. You can find out more information about The Urban Dance School via our Dance Surrey Directory.

You can find out more about Matt by visiting his profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

As a young dancer, Diana Towe danced with Evolve and at our Innovate dance platforms. After graduating from PPA in Guildford in 2017, an extensive performing career and being a 7 times world champion with the Tap Attack Company, she is now teaching future dancers for various companies, including Dance Woking!

Diana is a passionate and versatile dancer and teacher who has a wealth of experience in various dance styles including Tap, Modern, Ballet and Musical Theatre. She takes pride in achieving and maintaining consistently high standards in all that she does and this is so evident throughout her teaching.

Dance Woking is passionate about creating a thriving dance community from grass root levels to professionals. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to welcome Diana Towe onto our Outreach Team!

Welcome to the team Diana!

Diana is also a Dance Surrey PRO member. For more information on Diana’s career please click here

Dance Surrey PRO is part of Dance Woking’s ambition to create a thriving local dance community. It provides professional development opportunities to support, sustain and inspire dancers, artists, teachers and makers. For more information or to become a member click here

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We are now delivering in-person dance sessions and are looking for trained dance teachers who have experience-teaching 5-to-17-year olds to support our schools and outreach programme.

For more information on our vacancies, click here

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Introducing Sarita Piotrowski – A Dance Woking Associate Artist

Sarita is a choreographer and movement director following the success of over 20 years in the dance profession including extensive works as a performer and teacher. Sarita is a multidisciplinary movement creative and is using her time with Dance Woking to establish connections and conversations with like minded artists whilst also establishing some grass roots practise within Surrey. She says of the opportunity: “ I am looking forward to creating a strong bond with Dance Woking , connecting organisations with similar objectives and ultimately strengthening a network of dance in Surrey for all to utilise”.

“Creating work at grass roots level is a top priority for me as a multidisciplinary creative. Establishing connections with others who work and live within Surrey can only strengthen this ideal”

Sarita has chosen to focus on her work as a movement director on our Instagram page as part of her Friday Focus. She says ‘My work in movement, dance and expression have been my key sources in connecting to people, to life and in serving audiences and communities, for as long as I can remember. I feel truly blessed to have found use of this given talent and know that it is my calling to continue this journey in learning from all that surrounds me to create, collaborate, lead, teach and inspire. I would love to create more opportunities in Surrey for my working practices and in embedding myself as a sharing artist.’

You can find out more about Sarita by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

Year 6 pupils from local schools were the recipients of a pilot bespoke health and wellbeing enrichment day named Mind & Movement last week. Designed to help address the issue of mental health and wellbeing in children, the programme combines dance and wellness coaching in workshops tailored to the needs and requirements of the participants. The pupils worked on well being wheels, eye contact, movement around the space and processing and releasing worries with the help of a balloon! The pupils had a brilliant time with feedback from the schools focusing on a real positive improvement in confidence and focus.

Dance Woking is passionate about encouraging dance as a tool to make a person feel physically refreshed and improve their mood, and help tackling serious issues including anxiety and depression. Group dancing is a tool to release daily stress, a distraction from everyday worries and an outlet for imagination and emotion.

Funding for this project was secured by Surrey Community Foundation and was supported by Dance Woking and Woking Borough Council. This is a pilot project delivered in partnership with Woking Youth Service; following the
evaluation of this project with the partners: the schools, the Youth Service and Dance Woking we would like to review it’s potential to develop into a programme we offer schools going forward. If you would like more information on future Mind & Movement programmes please contact us.

Tuesday 3rd August – Friday 6th August

Surrey Arts Studio, Westfield Primary School, Bonsey Lane, Woking, England, GU22 9PR

Dance Woking are delighted to be offering a 4 day summer club in August.

The Hunky Dory Summer Club  Tuesday 3^rd August – Friday 6^th August  Times:Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 9.45am* – 3pm, Friday 9.45am – 4pm  Suitable for Primary Children in Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 What’s special? Fee includes hot meals each day The club will provide a fun and safe environment for all abilities and whilst there will be dance each day, the focus is on us providing a fun, active and creative week for all participants! No dance experience required!

The Summer Club is suitable for children in Primary School Year 4 to Year 6.  Registration starts each day from 9.45am*, with a jam packed day of activities starting from 10am. Extended days (9.00am drop off) are available on request and on Friday we’ll be extending the day to 4pm for more fun, games and a performance. We are also excited to be able to provide Hot food each day to all participants from a specified menu which includes both vegetarian and meat options, plus we can cater for other dietary requirements.

At Dance Woking we believe in creating active and engaging opportunities to inspire the younger generation. Our Hunky Dory Summer Club aims to promote health and well being whilst also allowing children to find new ways of expressing themselves. Our highly qualified and experienced team will lead a range of creative activities including daily dance sessions and arts and crafts activities. A highlight of the week is sure to be that of our BAKE OFF style challenge in which we will provide the ingredients for the whole family to get involved in learning some skills in the kitchen.

Bookings can be made for the full 4 day block or for individual days (although we encourage you to book all 4 days so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!) and places are limited.

Discounts are available for block bookings and those eligible for Free School meals. Book for the full 4-days by Thursday 22 July and get a £20.00 discount. Use code: DW20

To book please click here:  

If you currently receive Free School Meals or are on Pupil Premium please contact us and we can offer you further support or if you have any additional queries or concerns about accessibility for participants or to apply directly then please contact us

Introducing Tara Choudrie – A Dance Woking Supported Artist

Tara is an experienced dance teacher and lecturer from Primary school age up to degree level. She teaches and choreographs in the styles of contemporary, ballet and jazz as well as fitness classes. She says of this opportunity: “ I am looking forward to having the support and guidance from Dance Woking to enable me to carve a way back into an industry I am so passionate about. Having opportunities to learn and gain experience of other areas of the creative industry will be invaluable and I can’t wait to develop my skills”.

“I am passionate about working within educational and outreach programmes to enable the participants to discover a new way of moving. Having opportunities to learn and gain experience in the creative industry is invaluable”

Tara has chosen to showcase some of the students she has been working with recently on our Instagram page as part of her Friday Focus . The students in the video are Year 2 Musical Theatre Degree students at PPA, Performance Preparation Academy. The class featured is a snippet of their weekly Contemporary class which combines various techniques such as Cunningham and Release technique. Within their lessons they learn and perform a variety of exercises, travelling sequences, and set choreographic dances. 

You can find out more about Tara by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

Dance Woking’s very experienced Outreach Team has been busy leading our highly acclaimed Hunky Dory Dancer Programme in a number of partner schools across Woking & Surrey this term. We have been delighted with the feedback from both participant dancers and school leaders with the impact that this programme has had on children’s health & wellbeing. As the Summer term comes to an end, we’ve made sure that all participants on the Hunky Dory Dancer Club received a very special certificate to congratulate them on their hard work this term!

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The Hunky-Dory Dancer Programme has been put together by Dance Woking and is designed to emphasise dance as a form of fitness and wellness, as an outlet for fun and enjoyment through movement and as a way to relieve stress and anxiety. Included within this programme is a focus on healthy living including healthy foods and lifestyle.

The programme has been such a success that we have already secured 5 new contracts for September! If you would like to hear more about the programme or get your school involved please contact us

Lucy McCrudden provided a brilliant CPD session on Tuesday full of tips on maximising your portfolio career. The session covered defining what your portfolio ambitions are from types of work, ideas, to building partnerships, finance, delivery and evaluation. With almost 20 years’ experience in leadership and project management in high-profile projects with world-class organisations (including the Royal Opera House, The Place and Rambert), Lucy gave us u a good understanding of best practice on how to get the most out of what you have to offer. It was an incredibly popular CPD and Lucy’s energy got us really approaching our working practices in a different way! Thank you Lucy for your time and energy!

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The session was part of Dance Woking’s CPD series to support the local dance community. For more information on our future CPD events click here

Introducing Katie Dale-Everett – A Dance Woking Associate Artist

Katie is a choreographer and facilitator interested in the movement and communication between all things; body, art, text and thought, focusing on the human form we exist in, in connection with technology to better understand ourselves and our relationship to the world and others. Katie is using her time with Dance Woking to develop her Digital work and explore how this can be further developed with young people. She says of this opportunity: “I have always felt supported, nurtured and encouraged by the team at Dance Woking and continue to look for ways in which my work can sit within and/or work alongside the work you are doing. I believe we share many values; connection, using dance to impact people’s lives positively and championing learning and look forward to future opportunities to build upon these values“.

“I thrive on creating imagined and real worlds for people to become part of, to explore their creativity, whilst discovering their uniqueness and power to contribute positively to communities”

Katie Dale-Everett, Artistic Director of Katie Dale-Everett Dance is one of our Associate Artists. Katie’s vision is to use creativity as a way to create kinder, more interconnected and better-considered communities. Communities where we feel open to talk, share, learn, inspire and be heard and spaces where we feel valid, able to contribute and where we can all become artists. She engages in projects where she is able to facilitate space for people’s stories to be captured, for their experience and knowledge to be shared and for people to discover both their uniqueness and their power to contribute positively to communities. At the core is her desire to create group situations that facilitate individual journeys and learning and that use movement to instigate new levels of consideration, understanding and connection to others, our communities and the changing world around us.

With the support of Dance Woking, Katie is about to start researching and working on a new work ‘Copy’. ‘Copy; will challenge authenticity within micro-influencing, and it is her hope that it will be used by educational settings, charities and festivals. 

To start the research Katie has started to question what authenticity means to her and has shared the following with us:

Authenticity…

To be one’s true self, 

To rebel against conformity, 

To be vulnerable, 

To take risks, 

To be wholehearted, unafraid, non-conformist,

To have trust, 

To work towards creating a world in which people feel safe, loved and accepted to be who they are, 

To connect,

To show up fully present,

To not edit,  

To take a chance,

To not be what you perceive to be other people’s and your own idea of perfection,

To see yourself as continually evolving, 

To relearn who you are, 

To challenge and question,

To work hard and sit in discomfort,

To be alive, 

To not COPY

You can find out more about Katie by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

Dance Woking’s Summer Tea Dance returns on 15th July!

Special guests The Swingsters will be introducing the steps whilst Kate Finegan will provide a seated version of the movement. Dance Woking’s Summer Tea Dance will be 90 minutes of enjoyable dance routines.

 ‘We are excited to be ‘back in Woking’ even if only online. We have choreographed a jazz routine called ‘Tuxedo Junction’ which can be followed solo or with a partner. And we will also teach a 1920’s partnered Charleston class which can be followed dancing solo’ Mike & Mel from The Swingsters.

After a warm-up, simple steps will be taught steps, followed by a routine. You can take part on your own and do not need a partner. Kate will then lead a seated dance section mid-way through, followed by a second routine. At the end of the session there will be a short cool down and a chance to stay on and chat. We cannot wait to get dancing with you all! Suitable for all levels.

You can book your place here

Can’t make our Summer Tea Dance – why not try Dance Gold, a weekly dance club suitable for 65plus and delivered online. For more information please contact us.