DanceSyndrome, a community initiative based in North West England, has been awarded over £340,000 in National Lottery funding to support inclusive dance opportunities for children with learning disabilities.
Founded in 2009 by Jen Blackwell, who has Down’s Syndrome, and her parents, the charity emerged from their personal struggle to find accessible dance sessions in their area.
DanceSyndrome currently offers Everybody Dance community sessions for adults with learning disabilities across the North West, complemented by five weekly online classes. The programme also provides opportunities for performance and professional development.
Over the last two years, work has begun to expand this impact by working with young people, as well as adults.
A DS Youth Collective was formed in 2023, and the success of this group highlighted the need for a wider programme of inclusive activities for children and young people in the North West and beyond.
The £340,528 in National Lottery funding will see new accessible dance sessions being created for children of all ages, from infants to teens, as part of DanceSyndrome’s new Pathways to Thrive project.
Beth Cox from the National Lottery Community Fund attended the charity’s weekly class in Preston earlier this month to present the cheque.
Julie Nicholson, DanceSyndrome Managing Director said: “We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery, players we will be able to create accessible opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the amazing health and wellbeing benefits of dance and movement.
“This is so important because we regularly hear from families whose children absolutely love to dance and feel huge benefits from it but find it difficult to access mainstream activities. Everyone in society benefits when people of all abilities are supported and included. We want to put that into practice from a very young age, so that families can feel connected with their communities and access the life-changing opportunities that dance can bring.”