COMPANY PROFILE DanceChallenge™ was set up in 2005 by a group of artists and facilitators representing countries across the world aiming to make high quality arts accessible to everyone. WHAT IS THE DANCECHALLENGE™ ? DanceChallenge™ is a Fun-Packed, High-Quality International Dance Competition where Aspiring Dance Lovers are Catapulted to the Realm of Professional World.
This is a stress-free, innovative showcase that challenge and rewards young dancers from all walks of life.
Why participate in the DanceChallenge™ ?
We are proud to announce that since 2005, thousands of young people have taken the DanceChallenge™ to renowned venues across UK including Wembley Arena and South Bank Centre in London. DanceChallenge™ helps young people improve their health, self-esteem, artistic talents and dancing skills.
This platform is an opportunity for dancers, choreographers, dance teachers and other artists in UK to showcase their skills, creativity and enjoyment in dance.
Who can participate?
Teams of 5-25 members aged between 5-25 years old divided into four categories.
How does it work?
Participants either choreograph their routines or train with our team of choreographers. The team is invited to present their work at one of our Local Heats.
The performances are reviewed by a panel of professionals who award prizes for performance, creativity, group presentation and innovative choreography.
To participate, each dancer has to pay a registration fee. See price list at the bottom of this page or click on the events page.
Prizes are awarded at each Local Heat and more prizes are awarded at the National Finals.
*In exceptional cases, up to two children younger than five years are accepted to perform in each team.
DanceChallenge™ - Current & Previous Partners
Several local authorities across the country have worked in partnership with the DanceChallenge™ over the years.
The following is a list of our partners: The Mayor’s Office & the Greater London Authority, London Borough of Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon, Kensington and Chelsea, Southwark and Westminster.
What some of our clients have to say...
Just to say a big THANK YOU from the group MISUNDERSTOOD from Chalfont St Giles Youth Club.This was our first competition and we had a fantastic time and can not wait for next year's challenge. Again a MASSIVE thank you for giving us this opportunity.
All the Dance challenge staff were brilliant and made us feel really welcome and put us at ease and watching the other dancers was amazing.Entering not only was great fun, But It has made us believe in ourselves. :-)
Suizan Jefferson.
Volunteer youth leader.High Wycombe.
In the excitement of leaving the Pavilion Theatre after our DanceChallenge performance. Thank you for the wonderful day that the Chesswood Middle School dancer and I enjoyed profusely!
Alesandra Clarke
Chesswood M School. Worthing
DanceChallenge is an effective way of involving a variety of young people. We are very excited about the positive impact it provide for the young people in terms of mental and physical health, confidence, aspirations and lifelong skills.
Abby Viner and Anna Banbury
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
DanceChallenge is a remarkable and a testimony to the quality and the legacy of the project. I fully recommend it.
Kris Holliday
London Borough of Hillingdon
Your event is exciting and innovative. We are completely behind you as we can see the benefits of adding an inclusive competitive opportunity for young people in dance to our programme of inclusive non-competitive opportunities for performance.
Philippa Beagley
Southwark Council
The events provide an excellent platform for children and young people to develop their self-confidence and sense of achievement. It also serves as an excellent introduction to a wide variety of dance forms and to professional dancers.
Brent PAYP has supported DaceChallenge events for the last three years. We fully intend to continue our support in the future.
Christine Allen
Royal Borough of Brent
On behalf of the whole team I would like to thank you and your excellent team for your hard work and commitment. I appreciate the time and speed at which you had to work and the investment has paid off, making this project a huge success. I look forward to the opportunity of working with you again in the near future.
Carole Morrison
Creative Partnerships
London Borough of Brent is delighted to support the DanceChallenge. It has a good track record in enhancing young people's appreciation of sportsmanship, respect and appreciation of each other's achievement, to increase physical activity among young people and to encourage young people to achieve excellence through participating in a competition.
Prafula Shah
Wembley Programmes, for London Borough of Brent
A perfect platform for young talents to work and perform with professionals and have a first hand experience into the arts world. As a result, many of them can decide to pursue this in their future studies or employment.
DanceChallenge has a good track record in enhancing young people's appreciation of sportsmanship, respect and appreciation of each other's achievement encouraging young people to achieve excellence.
Valentina Wong
The Royal Borough of Westminster
Frequently Asked Questions
Terms & Conditions
Health & safety
Equal Opportunities
Sessions
Participants
Costs
Health & Safety
What is your health and safety policy?
We have a very detailed in-house health and safety policy. Contact us for a copy of our Policies & Procedures Handbook or view the Handbook's List of Contents. Please note: Some subjects may involve a high level of physical activity. DanceChallenge™ will not be held responsible for any injuries sustained or suffered due to participant's own causation.
Are you insured to deliver workshops/projects?
Yes. DanceChallenge™ holds public and employers' liability insurance and is therefore covered to deliver projects when required to do so (subject to a mutual agreement) in and out of the school setting.
Equal Opportunities
What are your equal opportunities policies?
DanceChallenge™ is committed to providing equal opportunities. Contact us for a copy of our Policies & Procedures Handbook or view the Handbook's List of Contents.
Do you have an anti-bullying policy?
Yes. Contact us for a booklet or see the contents here.
Sessions
How long do sessions last?
Typically a session lasts up to two hours with a "comfort break" in the middle however some sessions, like our Early Morning Energiser, are much shorter. We prefer to have a maximum of 3 sessions in a day though we are flexible and are happy to work around existing schedules and timetables.
Do the children need to bring anything or wear special clothing?
Not at all. If possible we like them to wear comfortable clothing that they don't mind getting a bit dusty. Trackies are ideal, but not essential.
Can we book more than one project?
Yes.
Participants
What age groups do you work with?
We work with children from 5 upwards, adults in their 70s - and all ages in between! Most of our participative projects are focused on children aged 7 to 16.
How many children per session?
A maximum of 30; a minimum of 10. Depending on the needs of the participants, we will decide the right number with those who know the participants best.
Can special needs children participate?
Absolutely! We pride ourselves on working with everyone, and often adapt projects according to language, mental and physical capabilities. We also have a range of projects primarily for a range of special needs groups.
Can children at risk participate?
Yes. We have been running projects for children at risk for over 7 years now and are confident that we have developed some of the best activity programmes for them.
Can children with limited English participate?
As much of what we do is about participation, action and acting out, we rarely find that language is a significant barrier to participants getting a great deal out of our sessions.
Can children from more than one school participate together?
Yes. The more you can "maximise" the number of participants, the lower the price per child.
How many children can be involved in a day?
The maximum is 90: 30 per session, 3 sessions.
Costs
How much does it typically cost per child per hour/day/session or course?
Normally we charge per session and the prices work out from under £3 per child per hour based on a total of 90 children per day. However, costs may vary if for example there are fewer participants, session numbers need to be smaller or there are special needs participants. Then the cost is likely to be slightly higher. Let's talk about your budget to see if we can find a way to accommodate you needs.
Can we take less than one full day?
Yes. The minimum booking period is usually one session of 2 hours (less with certain projects), although this works out at a slightly higher cost than a whole day or longer.
Do we get discounts for longer or repeat bookings?
Yes. Let's talk about it. We like working over longer periods and are happy to arrange good discounts for repeat contracts.
Can you get projects part or wholly funded for us?
We will always try and we have a lot of experience in obtaining funding, so tend to know what is (and isn't) possible. We will also work with you to help you secure the funding that is available to you.
What extra costs are involved?
Usually none. For example, we cover travel and other expenses for trainers unless there are exceptional costs.
Why do you charge an administrative fee?
Normally we charge a 10-15% administration fee to cover the time and costs associated with setting up the project e.g. meetings with the school, research, recruitment of artists, telephone calls, e-mail, photocopying etc. This fee is based on the overall cost of the project and also covers aspects such as obtaining CRB checks for staff and additional training. However, please be reassured that we keep this fee to an absolute minimum and are always happy to provide a detailed breakdown of the charges.
Qualifications & Experience
How many years have you been working with children?
9 years - sometimes it feels a lot longer, sometimes a lot less! Some of our trainers have been working with children and young people for over 20 years.
Are all your trainers CRB checked?
Yes.
What qualifications do trainers typically have?
Our trainers have professional qualifications in their area of expertise and often have additional qualifications in training, education, children's welfare, first aid etc.
Have the trainers been trained specifically to work with children?
The vast majority have, but some have not. What you can be sure of is that they are all well trained, very experienced, and have passed our own vigorous (but informal) tests procedures.
Can trainers focus on specific National Curriculum subjects?
Yes. We happily develop and adapt our projects for specific subjects and curriculum topics. Tell us what you want to focus on and we will develop a specific proposal.
Do you provide references and testimonials?
Yes - and plenty of them, too. Look through this website and ask us if there is anything specific that you want reassurance about. Go to what our clients say about us for some testimonials.
Resources & Requirements
Does a teacher/group leader need to be present during the session?
No. However we require a teacher/group representative on stand-by at all times. With some projects the school/group must provide the minimum legally required ratio of adults per student. On these occasions a school/group representative must be present throughout the workshop(s) and performance(s). The school/group is responsible for the safe guarding and discipline of the children at all times during workshop(s) and performance (s)
What extra work is involved for teachers?
As far as the session or project is concerned, none, unless you wish to specify a topic, in which case we then need to develop this with you. The only extra work is payment especially if it has to be obtained from each child.
Do you provide resources such as music, props, paper, costumes etc?
Yes - for most of our projects. However for some specific projects (arts, science etc) we may ask the school/group to contribute towards some resources.
Where are sessions typically held?
The workshops and courses are held at a mutually agreed venue though usually tend to take place on a school site. However sometimes, local community centres, sports centres, libraries or public spaces can be arranged for use.
What space and resources does the school/group need to provide?
Big spaces usually work best as there is then plenty of room for everyone to express themselves and for groups can work together without crowding others. School halls, gyms and larger classrooms are great. Outdoor spaces can also work well with the right subjects, participants and weather. Most importantly, the space should be cleared before arrival of the trainer(s). The trainer(s) need to have access to the space at least 15 minutes before the workshop/performance time. If possible the workshop/performance space should be made out of bounds to participants until the workshop/performance starts.
How many trainers are there for each participant?
It depends, but generally because we are working in a defined space on "safe" projects, we find that one trainer for up to 30 children is fine. Some participants need more attention and therefore we increase trainers accordingly.
Quality Assurance & Results
How can we assess performance?
Well, first of all we assess it for you. We establish levels of knowledge and understanding at the beginning of sessions and projects, and then test again at the end so that we can demonstrate to the participants and to everyone else, just how much has been learnt/achieved. Secondly, we welcome teachers and others making their own assessments and we always want your feedback.
How successful have you been to date?
Success can be measured in different ways but for us our ever growing number of new schools and participants speaks for itself. Some of our clients have retained us for over 5 years and we receive a lot of our new work and contracts based on personal recommendation. We are more than happy to pass on the details of previous clients who can share their experiences with you. Finally there's the satisfaction and pleasure in the eyes of our participants: that's what really tells us we are doing a good job.
How long does it take for results to show?
Two hours for the difference to be evident - but we find that the benefits are often long lasting. We seem to be able to make a shift in perceptions of, and attitudes towards learning, and this helps children for the rest of their lives. That is certainly our intention: changing lives, changing minds.
Do the participants receive any recognition or rewards?
Yes. When appropriate we use incentives and rewards to build confidence and motivation, but we don't ever create a competitive environment between participants.
Do you provide a report at the end of a project?
Yes. We can agree with you before starting, what outputs you would like and provide them as agreed.
