Strength 2 Strength

The Strength 2 Strength programme launched in October 2024, with a programme of activity running until March 2025. It focused on skills and capacity building for artists, organisations and young emerging talent, comprising 3 interlinked strands, complemented by the region’s existing activity. These are:

Training & Skills Development
Networking, Sharing & Events
Progression Routes into Dance

Outcomes for Strength 2 Strength include:

Confident dance artists / leaders / partners with expertise in inclusive working, increasing employability
Joined up regionwide approaches to professional / talent development and creative collaboration.
Strengthened, connected communities with a shared sense of identity
More disabled young people across the West Midlands can imagine working professionally in dance.
High quality documentation and evaluation resources support ongoing partnership building and fundraising, particularly with non-arts partners

The Project Manager for Strength 2 Strength is Sophie Humphries, Engagement Producer at FABRIC. Sophie is leading on Keep Moving, the legacy project from the hugely successful DLG project Critical Mass. Keep Moving has complimentary outputs to S2S around increasing opportunities for disabled young people to access dance, to perform and to consider dance as a career.

Strength 2 Strength is part of the Critical Mass Legacy programme, delivered by FABRIC, and funded by United by 2022, as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Enhancement Fund from West Midlands Combined Authority.

Project Activity

Artform Inclusivity

The Art Form Inclusivity programme was part of the training & skills development strand of the project. DLG worked with art-form specific organisations to address inclusive teaching methodologies across technique, approach and culture.

For example, how can we ensure hand gestures and footwook in Bharatanatyam stays culturally authentic but can be translated for different bodies? Can the french language in Ballet be taught in a visual or sensory way to aid different learning styles?

Ballet For All!

DLG, in collaboration with Birmingham Royal Ballet and National Youth Ballet, hosted Ballet For All: a day of sharing, learning, and practical activity for those working with, or interested in working with, disabled dancers in ballet.

The day explored how ballet can be taught, choreographed, or facilitated in an accessible way, with a focus on practical information and tools for use in studio settings. Attendees engaged with case studies and performances from Freefall Dance Company (Birmingham Royal Ballet) and NYB All In! (National Youth Ballet), viewed examples of work, and took part in physical workshops to try out inclusive approaches firsthand.

The day was facilitated by Suzie birchwood, with guest contributions from Grace Thompson (NYB) and Lee Fisher (BRB).

Disability Awareness and Inclusion training for South Asian dancers

The session was programmed by Sampad and led by Rashmi Becker (Step Change Studios). Rashmi has been dancing since a young age, and is the founder of Step Change Studios, an organisation which provides dance that is fun, accessible and inclusive for all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

Guest contributors included Reena Tailer (Bollywood Dreams Dance), and visually impaired dancers Marsha and Mina.

Making Hip Hop Inclusive

Eloquent Dance led a day training for dancers interested in creating a more accessible and inclusive environment in hip hop, commercial and breaking styles.

Guest contributors included Jamaal O'Driscoll, Zellah Kay and Holly Francis.

Online Inspiration - Talks, Workshops & Panel Discussions

Strength 2 Strength engaged exciting artists, facilitators and companies, extending into international reach, offering opportunity to share their work and knowledge to inspire the sector in crucial areas.

The series of monthly sessions offered opportunities to learn, share and grow, up-skilling the region & beyond.

For the first time, sessions were opened nationally & internationally to have wider reach and connectivity with the dance sector.

Sessions included:

International Collaboration: We are Epic Indonesian Exchange & Synergy by Mark Smith: South African Exchange
Re-Imagining Arts Leadership (A Panel Discussion). Guest Speakers: Munira Thobani, Sarah Pickthall and Neus Gil Cortes
The Realities of Freelance Producing & Finding Your Tribe, in collaboration with Producer Top Up and Producer Gathering. Gues Speakers: Nassy Konan, Hayley Ovens and Maddy Wilson.
Elevating Youth Voices in The Arts in collaboration with Participation People.
Psychological Safety workshop for DLG Steering Group

Encounter & Exchange

Encounter & Exchange was a match-making programme designed to support information sharing and connection across the region. This initiative brought together dance leaders from different areas, practices, and organisational contexts, creating space for meaningful one-to-one exchanges.

Each participant was paired with someone whose experience offered fresh insight – perhaps working in a different style, setting, or part of the region. The aim? To explore inclusive approaches in dance and to strengthen collaborative learning within our network.

Over half a day, pairs met to dive into pre-agreed themes and follow the flow of their shared interests. Reflections from these meetings were captured and have helped shape a wider understanding of the opportunities and challenges we face in building a more inclusive dance ecology. 45 dance professionals took part in the project from across the region at all levels, including company Directors, freelance artists and everyone in between.

"This has reminded me about the power of informal chat with people I look up to, that inspired me to make work too, and having a framework for a constructive conversation whilst being very human and warm when talking about our art. I will most definitely work towards having more and regular exchange conmversation with experienced experts in their fields in the future as they refill motivation, drive and inspiration"

Mentoring Opportunities

Mentoring was well spread out across disabled & non-disabled young people via DLG partners to enable stronger talent development and progression pathways.

Mentors & Mentees:

Beth Pattison (Motionhouse dancer) received mentoring from Anjali Dance Company in inclusive practice, producing and project management
Holly Riseborough (learning disabled dancer) will received mentoring from Ashley Jordan at Ascension Dance and shadowed the development of Pinnacle Dance Platform through teaching opportunities, project management and festival delivery support.
Maiah Bennett & Tyler Temple-Rose (wheelchair user dancers) received online mentoring Maiya Leeke to support them on the career progression
Partnership mentoring with Hubbub Theatre & Brewhouse Arts Centre - two dancers from That! Dance Burton and 1 dancer from Brewhouse took part in a mentoring exchange. Bethany from Hubbub took part in a photography project with That! Dance.
Samantha Walsh (Freefall dancer at Birmingham Royal Ballet) received mentoring from Jo Meredith from National Youth Ballet.

Bursary Opportunities

Strength 2 Strength supported 20 individuals with up to £100 towards courses & training that benefit them as an artist, thus contributing to a stronger, more skilled region of dance professionals.

Funded courses included:

Lead & Create choreographer online 6 week course
Makaton Level 1 training
Safeguarding in Sport training
BSL level 1 course
People Dancing courses - Risk Assessments and Income Streams
And more.

Progression Routes into Dance

On 5th March, a forum day was held with interested and invited practitioners across a range of dance styles, to discuss pathways into the professional dance industry, and what DLG could do to support access into the industry. Members included:

1. FABRIC - Hayley Arthur
2. DCD - Jane Ralls
3. Higher Education - Mel Knott
4. South Asian - Shane Shambu
5. Hip Hop - Zellah Kaey from Eloquent
6. Disability Rachel Liggitt
7. Vogue & Commercial - Eric Scutaro
8. ODUK rep - Sam Lane

Young people from each attendees’ network were asked a series of questions about their route into dance so we understood the lived experience of barriers affecting young people.

Following the meeting, the summary report was proposed at the DLG Summit for discussion and two DLG Steering Group members collated ideas into 6 project proposals that went back to DLG Steering Group, Progression Pathways attendees, and young people for priority ranking.