Dancers take their new show into school

Dance students from the University of Central Lancashire have been sharing their talents with the community through a six-date tour of local schools and colleges.
UCLan Dance Performance and Teaching year 3 students perform part of MichaelMichaelMarthaMartha at Longridge High School
Nadine McBride, Ellie Rogers, Jessica Weight and Nathan PritchardUCLan Dance Performance and Teaching year 3 students perform part of MichaelMichaelMarthaMartha at Longridge High School
Nadine McBride, Ellie Rogers, Jessica Weight and Nathan Pritchard
UCLan Dance Performance and Teaching year 3 students perform part of MichaelMichaelMarthaMartha at Longridge High School Nadine McBride, Ellie Rogers, Jessica Weight and Nathan Pritchard

The final year dance performance and teaching students have worked with professional dance artist Carl Harrison to create their latest contemporary dance touring work, MichaelMichaelMarthaMartha.

The project takes a quirky look at the spectrum of gender and associated stereotypes- and is proving a hit with pupils across the county.

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The students premoiered the show to pupils at Longridge High School on the first date of their tour before taking it to five other schools around Lancashire over the next few weeks.

On top of the floor shows, the dancers have also been running educational workshops at each school to share their skills and knowledge with potential dance students of the future.

One of the dancers involved, Rosie Mullin said the response had been great.

She added: “It’s fantastic to go into local schools to show what we do and how it can be achieved to hopefully really engage the pupils. It’s also been hugely beneficial to work with Carl Harrison because he is so professional and well-connected in the dance industry.”

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Dance course leader Lucy Nicholson added: “The students have worked intensively with Carl, who is currently touring with Protein Dance Theatre, to create a hugely innovative and quirky piece of dance that they can now take into the community and perform to a variety of audiences.

“It’s also great for them to run workshops for the schoolchildren to gain additional practical experience in teaching as well as performing.”

At the end of the tour the students plan to give a final performance of MichaelMichaelMarthaMartha at the course’s showcase event on June 1 and 2 at the university’s Media Factory.

Schools involved in the tour included Hutton Grammar School, Tarleton Academy, Kirkham Carr Hill High School and Sixth Form, and All Hallows Catholic High School in Penwortham.