Dance Woking are thrilled to be offering a 4 week holiday program over the Summer and in order to facilitate this we are currently recruiting for a Summer Outreach team.

We are recruiting one Holiday Club & Dance Lead and two Holiday Club Assistants to join our team and help us deliver a fun and dynamic Summer holiday provision.

Dance Woking’s Hunky Dory Summer Club is suitable for children in Primary School Year 4 to Year 6. 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 delivering a fun, active and creative week for all participants!

Applicants must be available Mon to Thurs from Mon 25th July to Thurs 18th August (Excluding, Fri, Sat, Sun). Training will be provided on week commencing 18th July (date tbc)*. *Training will be a mix of accredited online courses (safeguarding, food safety – if needed), and in person training & planning to ensure the smooth delivery of the program.

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Job descriptions can be found on our Opportunities page to register your interest please email Ellie Dowling and she will forward you a job specification & criteria. The assistant role does not require dance experience.

We will prioritise applicants who can commit to the 4-weeks required; however if you are only available for at least 2-weeks or more please still apply indicating the dates you can do. Applications close on 21 June at 5pm; interviews w/c 27th June.

Dance Woking are thrilled to announce we have been successful in our bid to provide holiday provision during the Summer holidays for young residents of Woking and this time we’ll be hosting at 2 seperate venues in Woking over 4 weeks, meaning we’ll be able to engage with more young people in our community.

The funding, provided by Club4, will enable us to host our popular Hunky Dory Holiday Club this Summer. The holiday club will be held at 2 separate venues over the first 4 weeks of the Summer holidays and will be facilitated by our highly experienced team and provide participants with a full day of dance, arts & crafts, fun and a hot meal every day too! We are excited to be hosting our holiday club at The Maybury Centre & Lakeview Community Centre.

The Summer Club is suitable for children in Primary School Year 4 to Year 6. 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!

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.

The Summer Holiday club programme is shaping up to be full of amazing activities and bookings will open on Wednesday 1st June! If you would like more information on the holiday club please click the button below

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Club4 is Surrey County Council’s (SCC’s) response to the government’s Holiday Activities and Food initiative, designed to provide healthy meals, physical activity and enrichment opportunities to children and young people in receipt of free school meals during longer holidays. Coordinated by Active Surrey for SCC, free places will be provided during the Easter, Summer and Christmas 2022 holidays.  

The Jubilee weekend will see Dance Woking partner with Stanwell Events group to host a community party in the park to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Held on the 4th June, this special event held on Long Lane Recreation Ground will see Dance Woking facilitate 2 dance workshops throughout the day, a community flashmob performance with the Youth Club, local community performances and bring professional companies Folk Dance Remixed and MCDC (Michaela Cisarikova Dance Company) to perform for the local residents to enjoy.

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Dance Woking Outreach team have been working with the Stanwell Youth Project over the last 6 weeks to device a community performance piece and this will be performed on the day at 2pm.

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MCDC will perform Fish Out of Water which is a fresh, family-friendly outdoor dance performance using hip hop, interactive sculptures & responsive music to explore themes of belonging, otherness & migrancy. 

Follow the dancers as they find themselves in a strange new place and help them overcome bizarre, colourful obstacles. By the end of the show, you can help them build a home somewhere new and show them that whatever challenges we face, we are stronger together.

Fish Out of Water is the latest touring performance from MCDC Michaela Cisarikova Dance Company, known for bold visuals and her signature hip hop and contemporary dance style. Fish Out of Water is Co-commissioned by Applause and The Marlowe, with support of SELEP Ltd as a part of Catalyst For Culture and supported by Arts Council England.

Performances will be at 11.30am & 1.20pm

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Folk Dance Remixed are a groundbreaking company creating unique fusions between Folk and Hip Hop styles with live music. Led by Artistic Directors Kerry Fletcher and Natasha Khamjani, the company rediscover old traditions through contemporary forms.

The Ceilidh Jam will get you on your feet for a funked up, unique, folky, social dance – a fabulous chance for all to dance! Using traditional callers to teach, we’ll be mixing folk formations, Street Dance, legendary moves and freestyle grooves – from the Soul Train Line to Lucky 7, Strip the Willow to the Electric Slide.

The Ceilidh will be performed at 12.30pm & 2.15pm

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More information on this event can be found on our What’s On page.

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This event is thanks to funding from Arts Council England Let’s Create Jubilee Fund & Community Foundation for Surrey.

Saturday 11th June is set to be an extremely exciting free event for the local community with workshops school group performances, performances from Folk Dance Remixed and lot’s of celebrating. Part of the event will see us host a community dance program and we are thrilled to be showcasing some local community groups throughout the day.

The community performance platform will see local dance groups Dance Shack, Cremona School of Dance, Flipside Dance Company and Woking College perform in our outdoor performance area showcasing some of their amazing routines. We are incredibly excited to have them as part of the event to showcase local talent.

11am Performance – Dance Shack

1.30pm Performance – Cremona School of Dance, Flipside Dance & Woking College

For more information on the groups performing please click on the buttons below

We look forward to you attending this part of our event. For more information on Encounters – please visit our events page

Dance Woking would like to thank it’s funders Arts Council England, Woking Borough Council, Akiko Design and Community Foundation for Surrey.

As part of our Encounters – Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee event on 11th June, Folk Dance remixed will be hosting Street Dance the Maypole workshops throughout the day.

Join in the fabulously fun funky social dance Ceilidh Jam and Street Dance the Maypole workshops creating wraps ‘n ripples mixed with waves ‘n breaks around a contemporary designed, bespoke ribboned, maypole… all to live music with remixed twists!

Street Dance The Maypole will be a chance for all ages to get their hands on the maypole and dance together with a funky street dance routine mixed with folkie maypole moves, such as the Chrysanthemum Wrap and The Ripple. Suitable for 8yrs and up, if younger they must be accompanied by an adult.

Whilst these workshops are FREE to attend we recommend you book your place on the 12.30 or 3.15 workshop. BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

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“Street Dance the Maypole was a brilliant visual focal point, filling the space with colours and energy. The teachers were quick to adapt the level of the workshop to the ability of the participants … everyone really enjoyed themselves!” Lina Johansson, Joint Artistic Director of Mimbre

Workshops are for 8yrs+ (unless accompanied by an adult). Workshops will last a max of 30minutes.

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Folk Dance Remixed are a ground-breaking company creating unique fusions between Folk and Hip Hop styles with live music. Led by Artistic Directors Kerry Fletcher and Natasha Khamjani, the company rediscover old traditions through contemporary forms.

Folk Dance Remixed will also be performing Step Hop House – A fresh, quirky, colourful and magical collision of traditional and Hip Hop dance and music: high-energy, with a unique remix of Maypole, Clogging, Ceilidh, Street, House and Breakdance with a hint of African & Bollywood… to a live soundtrack of fiddle & beat boxing – this is Folk and Street Dance like you’ve never seen it before!

Folk Dance Remixed takes its inspiration from generating a creative playground to grow new and innovative ideas of mixing folk dance and music of many cultures with contemporary and street dance styles. We are excited by the similarities and differences in hip hop and folk dance; essentially, they have both come from the street and from the people; they both have social aspects and room for self-expression. The resulting synergy has dynamic creative impact and power.

Artistic directors and dance artists Kerry Fletcher and Natasha Khamjani were brought together by East London Dance to explore and create new ideas and concepts using the traditional vocabulary of folk dance expressed through the voice of contemporary street dance styles, and create a current and relevant fusion as a platform for outstanding performance and participation activities.

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For more information on our event on the 11th June – please visit our Encounters – Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee event page.

As part of our Encounters – Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee event on 11th June, Folk Dance Remixed will be joining us to perform their amazing Step Hop House piece, Ceilidh & Street Dance the Maypole Workshop.

Folk Dance Remixed are a groundbreaking company creating unique fusions between Folk and Hip Hop styles with live music. Led by Artistic Directors Kerry Fletcher and Natasha Khamjani, the company rediscover old traditions through contemporary forms.

Their piece, Step Hop House is a fresh, quirky, colourful and magical collision of traditional and Hip Hop dance and music: high-energy, with a unique remix of Maypole, Clogging, Ceilidh, Street, House and Breakdance with a hint of African & Bollywood… to a live soundtrack of fiddle & beat boxing – this is Folk and Street Dance like you’ve never seen it before!

Folk Dance Remixed will be performing at 11.45am & 2.30pm for people in Woking Town Centre – don’t miss their incredible performance!

For more information on Encounters – Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee visit our events page where we releasing more information shortly.

Photo Credit – Folk Dance Remixed, Paul Brock, FDR – Frances Watt, Steve Eggleton.

Dance Woking Needs YOU!!!

We are recruiting volunteers to help with the running of our incredibly exciting event on 11th June. Volunteering with us offers great opportunities for skills development and will give you an insight into how an organisation like ours run events. It’s shaping up to be a fun packed and enjoyable day and we would love for you to join our team!

You can find more information about Volunteering with us on our opportunities page

Last week we announced that we have been awarded a grant from Arts Council England’s Let’s Create fund to help create an event to honour and celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

We are thrilled to be able to announce that we will be using the grant to fund the creation of a day of dance in Woking Town Centre on Saturday 11th June!

The outdoor event will showcase dance in it’s many forms with performances from community dance groups, a professional performance from Folk Dance Remixed, dance skills workshops hosted by the Dance Woking Outreach Team, a Ceilidh for shoppers to join in with and an opportunity to try Maypole dancing.

One of the many highlights of the day promises to be schools from across Woking Borough coming together to perform a very special piece to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Choreographed by Emma Brewer, the performance takes us on a journey through musical history and includes some old favourites and sees over 150 school children of all ages come together for one energy filled performance!

Folk Dance Remixed, a quirky colourful dance performance group that brings a magical collision of folk dance and hip hop dance will perform their piece ‘Step Hop House’ twice during the day. They will also facilitate Maypole Workshops, suitable for all ages and a fun ceilidh for all to enjoy.The day is shaping up to be a fitting celebration of our royal monarch and her love for the arts. We look forward to you joining us to celebrate her in style!

Dance Woking’s Encounters – Celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Saturday 11 June

From 10.30am

Visit our events page for more information!

The Dance Woking Outreach Team visited Westfield Primary School this week to lead and facilitate a carnival themed Dazzle Day for the entire school! Held over two days, all participants learnt a carnival dance which culminated in a whole school parade in the playground at the end of the day. The workshops were full of creative movement, props and enabled the school children to have some fun with their class mates.

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Dazzle Days are new to our expanding outreach programme for local schools and enable schools to offer an ideal enrichment day opportunity.

Ellie Dowling, Engagement Manager said “Dazzle Days are a fantastic opportunity to unite year groups or even the whole school in an immersive, cultural activity. An asset to any enrichment week, our Dazzle days have been extremely popular in the Summer Term with focus on Carnival and Jubilee themes. Participants often enter the workshops a little unsure but leave bursting with energy and excitement, only to be followed up with a confidence boosting group performance or parade at the end of the day”

For more information on our Dazzle Days, please contact Ellie Dowling.

Dance Woking has been awarded a grant from the Arts Council’s Let’s Create Jubilee Fund by Surrey Community Foundation – ensuring that creativity plays an important role in local community celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will ensure that thousands of people from communities all across England will have the opportunity to take part in exciting creative events – all in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee.

Dance Woking will use the grant to fund the creation of a day of dance performances in Woking Town Centre on Saturday 11th June. Encounters – A Celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will showcase dance in many forms with performances from local dance groups, professional performances from Folk Dance Remixed, dance skills workshops hosted by the Dance Woking Outreach Team, a Ceilidh for shoppers to join in with and Maypole workshops.

One of the many highlights of the day promises to be schools from across the borough coming together to perform a very special piece to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Choreographed by Emma Brewer, the performance takes us on a journey through musical history and includes some old favourites as well as sign language and will see over 150 school children of all ages come together for one energy filled performance! The children have been taking part in weekly dance classes as part of the Dance Woking Inspired Learning programme and are excelling at learning all the different dance styles ready for their performance.

Folk Dance Remixed, a quirky colourful dance performance group that brings a magical collision of folk dance and hip hop dance will perform Step Hop House throughout the day as well as facilitate Maypole Workshops for all to enjoy. 

Sam McCaffrey, CEO of Dance Woking said “we are thrilled to have been awarded a grant from the Arts Council’s Let’s Create Jubilee Fund by Surrey Community Foundation. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase our local talents and take part in this national celebration.” 

More details will be released later this week about the day but we can’t wait to celebrate in style this Jubilee month!

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The Let’s Create Fund was made possible thanks to National Lottery players and administered by UK Community Foundations on behalf of the Arts Council, the Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will support a huge range of projects throughout England. 44 community foundations have been awarding grants across the country. 

Darren Henley, Chief Executive at Arts Council England said “The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund is a wonderful example of our ambition to give everyone the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts, culture and creativity – made possible thanks to National Lottery players. This June, we’ll see communities across England coming together to celebrate a historic milestone for this country. I’m excited to see these projects brought to life in villages, towns and cities across the country as our wonderfully creative communities celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.” 

Rosemary Macdonald, CEO, UK Community Foundations, said: “For community foundations, people and places are the priority and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is a unique opportunity for people to get together and celebrate in their communities. We are proud to have connected Arts Council England with local organisations whose imaginative and exciting projects and collaborations with professional artists will bring communities together to enjoy marking this milestone moment in our history.” 

HM The Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, having overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015.  Her reign has been marked by a commitment to public service, reflected by her extensive programme of engagements at home and abroad, and support for over 600 cultural organisations, charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.