News

New Street Dance Club

A fun & creative dance club using urban dance styles

Thursday’s 5pm – 6pm

Open to children aged 10 to 14 years

Dance Woking’s new Street Dance Club will use different urban and street dance styles with a focus on having fun, learn some new moves and get fit in a creative weekly dance club.

Thursday 2 November until Thursday 14 December

The dance sessions will include warm up/cool down, choreography and also creative movement where dancers will be encouraged to get involved.

Free taster session on 2 November – booking essential follow this link: HERE

Dance Woking is partnering with Freedom Leisure and being supported by Shanly Foundation and Arts Council England

News

Holiday Club Bookings open

Dance Woking is delighted to be a chosen partner to Club4 to deliver Dance led activity this summer.

We will be delivering high quality dance led holiday clubs at three different locations this summer:

Mon 24, Tue 25 & Wed 26 July – Lakeview Community Centre, GU21 3AG

Tues 1, Wed 2, Thus 3 August – The Maybury Centre, GU21 5HD

Wed 9, Thus 10, Fri 11 August – Horsell Village Hall, GU21 4SS

Wed 16*, Thus 17*, Fri 18** August – *Lakeview Community Centre, GU21 3AG, **Horsell Village Hall, GU21 4SS

9.30am – 2.30pm

Suitable for ages: 8 to 11 Years (Primary School Years 4 to 6)

Book now

The Hunky-Dory Summer Club provides a great way for children to have fun, make new friends, eat well and get creative. Our experienced and friendly team will lead a range of activities including creative dance, arts and crafts. There will be a creative food session during the three days, wellbeing activities and lots of fun games. The club encourages children to find new ways of expressing themselves.

Lunch will be provided, you will be able to choose from a selected menu, special dietary requirements can be catered for.

For those on free school meals or pupil premium please visit the Active Surrey website: https://www.activesurrey.com/community/club4/parents

The club is open to all levels and abilities. Where applicable children will be split by age. If you have any questions on this holiday club and the activities, we will be providing please contact office@dancewoking.com

This programme is possible as a result of funding from Surrey County Council. 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. Co-ordinated by Active Surrey for SCC, free places will be provided during the Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays.  

News

Boys take to the stage

Thursday 25 May saw Dance Woking produce its first platform ‘Moving Beats’ focusing on Boys Dance since the Covid19 pandemic in 2020. Groups had travelled across the South East to perform. Nine different groups featuring 68 dancers took part. FuzzyLogic Dance, from Southampton attended with choreographer Zoie Golding, MBE. Smikle Dance Studio and Boys Company travelled from Brighton. Leading vocational College based in Bracknell, Artemis College, brought over 26 dancers led by Woking based choreographer, Carla Crowley (Streetvibes Dance). The college brought two very different pieces, the first ‘Artemis Legion’ used Hip-Hop dance style, the second a musical dance piece, ‘Backstage Romance’ from Moulin Rouge featured a mixed group. Both celebrated boys in dance with lively energetic performances. Soloist, Adi Detemo, an Ethiopian refugee, showcased his skills using a traditional Ethiopian dance style incorporating it with Hip-Hop. Jakob Ujczak, from Kingston University, on a work placement with Dance Woking, created a very moving duet called ‘The Choice’ with a fellow dance student. Vital Signz Dance also hailing from Kingston-Upon-Thames took part with two male duets, ‘Everybody Dance’ & ‘Stronger than ever’. Also performing was Tom Brown, a student from The Brit School, who joined Dance Woking on a school placement. Tom showed his multiple talents by sharing compering the night with Jakob, whilst also reading a very moving piece he wrote about the stigma he experienced as a male dancer to singing a powerful version of ‘Proud of Your Boy’.

Dance Woking Trustee Lisa Samos said ‘Moving Beats was an incredibly enjoyable and enlightening evening of dance, presenting sophisticated choreography with inspiring content and young male performers’ dedication to their craft. Each voice on the stage was bursting with enthusiasm that connected with the audience. Exhibiting movement from a brave and personal speech about the stigma of boys’ dancing, to a solo Abyssinian hip hop piece, and a wonderfully creative moving forest; Sam (CEO/Artistic Director) brought together an excellent diverse talent pool. In my opinion Moving Beats deserves to grow as an important annual event to highlight the thought-provoking progress and celebration of boys in dance’

Dance Woking’s CEO and Artistic Director Sam McCaffrey said, ‘It’s great to be back at Rhoda McGaw Theatre hosting a sold-out show. The dance schools performing had worked hard on their pieces which were creative and imaginative; themes ranged from celebrating the freedom felt after lockdown, celebrating greats such as Janet Jackson, Missy Elliot & Chris Brown, to routines that were due be performed last year and just waiting for an opportunity like this. The audience was appreciative, loud and encouraging. The groups all joined each other on stage to close the show to Run D.M.C & Jason Nevins ‘It’s Like That’. A great way to end the evening, more please!.’

Smikle Dance Studio and Boys Company, Brighton – Forest

Artemis College – Artemis Legion

Artemis College – Moulin Rouge

Kingston University – The Choice

Black Abyssinia – Raya

Tom Brown – Proud of Your Boy

Vital Signz Dance – Everybody dance

Vital Signz Dance – Stronger than ever

FuzzyLogic Youth Dance – ATTENTION!

Finale led by Jakob Ujczak