Funding boost for projects which aim to inspire people with music and dance

Creative Arts East' Our Day Out project. Photo: Anita Staff. (Image: Anita Staff 2015 www.anitastaff.com)

Creative Arts East and Stopgap Dance Company have been given funding from the Spirit of 2012 trust for three-year projects which will focus on inspiring people of all abilities through music and dance.

Stopgap Dance Company, which works with disabled and able-bodied performers, has received £206,995. Working with Norfolk & Norwich Festival, DanceEast and various local schools, Stopgap plans to train dance teachers and engage young people with the art form. The funding will also be used for a large-scale outdoor production in Great Yarmouth as part of the 2018 Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

Sho Shibata, executive producer at Stopgap Dance Company, said: 'We will be training local dance teachers to deliver an inclusive dance syllabus (IRIS) as part of this project...In the future, we hope that IRIS will create a level playing field for disabled and non-disabled dance students everywhere, so that they can achieve artistic excellence together as equals.'

Creative Arts East has also been awarded £231,110 to develop its Our Day Out dementia-friendly programme for older people in Norfolk. This will include offering fortnightly music and dance sessions in at least six rural communities across Breckland and north Norfolk.

Natalie Jode, Creative Arts East's executive director, said: 'Our Day Out has been running as a pilot scheme for the past 18 months; initiated and subsequently funded by Breckland Council. Spirit of 2012 funding will enable us at Creative Arts East to establish longer-term stability and artistic development for this innovative programme, which makes a real difference to the lives of some of the most isolated people within our community.'

The funding for these two projects has come from the Spirit of Achievement Arts and Culture Challenge Fund.