We are delighted to announce that bookings are now open for our Moving into Maturity professional development online workshop. This two day introductory course in leading dance for older people and dance & dementia takes place online.

Moving into Maturity is an introductory professional development course for people working, or intending to work with older people. Suitable for professional dance artists, health care professionals and students, this course will introduce some of the key skills needed to lead dance sessions, both seated and standing, with older people and people with dementia. Attendees may take part in the two days or join us for one of the days.

When: Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd May 2024, 9.30am-4.30pm
This is an online course and will take place via Zoom.
Fees: One day – £90/ £70 concession; Two days – £140 / £105 concession
(students, unemployed, 60+)

Find out more about specific course content on each day

To book your place, please contact us on email: admin@greencandledance.com

Watch a video from our Moving into Maturity workshop.

After a series of showings at events and invited viewings, we are thrilled to share Spin Off’s most recent Dance Work, Emerge. This is the result of a collaboration between our over 50’s dance company, Spin Off, our Artistic Director, Fergus Early OBE, film editor Hugo Glendinning and composer Bobby Demers. 

Over the summer Spin Off, worked with our Artistic Director, Fergus, to devise and rehearse the choreography. The project’s aim was to boost the company members confidence, skill and knowledge in working with new technologies, aided by online workshops in using their smartphones, ipads or laptops to help them record footage of themselves dancing. Company members also worked online with artists as the film was edited and music composed giving them exciting opportunities to learn new creative skills across different art forms.

Here are some thoughts from the company members themselves: 

‘The project alerted me to video possibilities and ways of editing’

‘It was lovely dancing outside and responding to the trees and open spaces’

‘It was very imaginative and well led. Thank you’

‘It freed up ideas of where we can perform and connect with different spaces’

‘The title Emerging resonated with meeting for the first time [post-lockdown] to dance together which was for all of us a moving and exhilarating experience

‘It was a really lovely way to get connected after the lockdown’

‘Working with nature was particularly inspiring’

Spin Off meet every Tuesday 10:30am – 12:30pm at Oxford House, Bethnal Green.

If you are inspired by this project, and want to find out more and get involved, please contact us at admin@greencandledance.com

To keep up to date on Green Candle Dance Company’s latest projects, sign up for our newsletter on our home page. 

We want to continue and expand our Remember to Dance project in Tower Hamlets. Remember to Dance is a dance and live music session for people living with dementia and their carers or companions.

We’ve teamed up with Spacehive to create a crowdfuding campaign in order to raise enough money to continue Remember to Dance and we need your support to help spread the word.  If you or anyone you know is living with Dementia and music or dance has made a difference to them, then you know how important these sessions are to our participants.

Please share our campaign and if you can pledge just a little, it will make a huge difference to us and, more importantly, our participants.  We need to get pledges for the full amount otherwise we will not receive any funds.  Similarly, if you pledge but we do not reach our target, you will not be charged.

Thanks for your support!

www.spacehive.com/remember-to-dance

Green Candle Dance Company believes that everyone has the right to enjoy dance: for more than 25 years the company has pioneered dance work for and with older people.

Remember 2 Dance! – With Fergus Early

This FREE online community dance class is for people living with Dementia that are still living in their own homes. This is suitable for all abilities (including people who need to remain seated) and encourages their carers and companions to join in with them.

Every Thursday Morning
11am – 12m | Online via Zoom

To receive the link, please contact us: admin@greencandledance.com | 07534408976

To keep up to date on Green Candle Dance Company’s latest projects, sign up for our newsletter on our home page.

Green Candle Dance are committed to keeping our participants safe and well. We are therefore following the latest guidelines from the government regarding the Coronavirus – COVID-19 and have suspended all sessions and training courses until further notice. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for further updates.

We are delighted to announce that we will be running a Choreographing in Community Contexts Dance CPD workshop from 2-3rd July 2020

Our Artistic Director and Founder, Fergus Early, will lead a 2 day workshop in which he shares some of his immense experience of choreographing both for and with specific
communities.

Having choreographed over 25 full-length works for audiences ranging from 2 years old to residents of care homes, and many short dances for groups of children, young people and older adults, Fergus offers this unique opportunity to learn about, experiment with and discuss the complex and exciting craft of choreography for and with communities.  Some of the topics covered include:

• Knowing your audience
• Theatre, school, residents’ lounge – what is the venue?
• Dance, spoken word, visual art/design, music, song – what are your media?
• What is your dance language, vocabulary, style?
• Narrative or abstract? (and what do those words mean?)
• Collaborate or go it alone?
• Choreographing with professionals
• Choreographing with non-professionals
• Form and content
• Clarity and accessibility

When: Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd July 2020.  9.30-4.30pm
Where:  Oxford House, Derbyshire St, London E2 6HG
Fee:  £150 / £120 concession (students, unemployed, 60+)

To find out more and book your place, please email
admin@greencandledance.com or telephone 0207 739 7722

Spinoff, our dance company for over 55s has had an incredibly busy year with lots of great performances all over the capital.

In April, they performed at The Bull Theatre in Barnet, London as part of the ‘Keep On Moving 111’ festival. The festival was The Bull Theatre’s third annual intergenerational Dance Festival, celebrating the joy of dance across the ages. In addition to Green Candle, the festival featured Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, D2D Dance Company and Counterpoint Dance Company.

Watch a video of Spinoff performing at the festival below

In early June, Spinoff took to the streets of Aldgate and performed as part of Fluid Boundaries – a collaboration between Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and ft work for the London festival of Architecture

July saw them perform at Chrisp St Market as part of an event for Poplar Harca and also at an Age UK team event where the staff thought they were brilliant.

“Thank you again for making our event so much fun and inspiring our staff.” Bethan Dickson, Age UK

We gave them a bit of a break over the Summer but September came around and they wowed the crowd at the Museum of London in Docklands.  October saw them perform at Sutton House in Hackney and in November Spinoff delighted commuters and passers by at Kings Cross Station.

Finally, during December, they received a standing ovation for their performance at the KCL Dance Society‘s Christmas Showcase and were invited to do one last special performance at the Markel 3rd Sector Care Awards.

We think that’s probably enough for this year and they deserve a nice long Christmas holiday!  They love their performances though and and will be back again in the new year.

Thank you to all our Spinoff dancers and everyone who turned out to support them and cheer them on in  2019.  See you in 2020!

From 8-9th April 2019, and 28-29th November 2019 we held our two annual Moving into Maturity workshop here at Oxford House in London.  This two day professional development workshop is aimed at those interested in leading dance for older people and dance for dementia.

Moving into Maturity is a specially designed introductory professional development course for people who are working or intending to work with older people. Suitable for professional dance artists, health care professionals and students , the course introduces some of the key skills needed to lead dance sessions, both seated and standing, with older people and people with dementia.

This year we welcomed 16 new students in April and 12 more in November who took part in sessions with our Artistic Director Fergus Early and Dementia Friends Champion Jerry McNeilly.

Students also got first hand experience of dance classes with older people as they got the chance to join in sessions with Spinoff – our dance company for Over 55s,  and Remember to Dance – our dance and live music sessions for people living with dementia and their carers/companions.

We are delighted that we’ve provided 28 more people with valuable insight and knowledge that will help them better understand leading dance for older people and dance for dementia.

Watch a video from the November workshop below

Watch the video from our April course

We are delighted to announce that bookings are now open have for our Moving into Maturity professional development workshop. This two day introductory course in leading dance for older people and dance & dementia takes place Oxford House in London from 28th-29th November 2019.

Moving into Maturity is an introductory professional development course for people working, or intending to work with older people. Suitable for professional dance artists, health care professionals and students, this course will introduce some of the key skills needed to lead dance sessions, both seated and standing, with older people and people with dementia. Attendees may take part in the two days or join us for one of the days.

When: Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November  2019, 9.30am-4.30pm
Where: Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London E2 6HG
Fees: One day – £80/ £60 concession; Two days – £130 / £95 concession (students,unemployed, 60+)

Find out more about specific course content on each day

To book your place, please contact fergus@greencandledance.com, Tel: 07812 024129 or email fergus@greencandledance.com