Club is dancing with joy over £340k funding boost

A DANCE group has been awarded £340,528 in National Lottery funding to support its work with people with learning disabilities.

- BY YASMIN AL-NAJAR

Accrington-based DanceSyndrome will use the money to continue to support and expand their community provision by 2030.

This includes creating pathways for children with learning disabilities to take part in accessible dance sessions at all ages, leading up to joining the charity’s existing sessions for adults.

DanceSyndrome has been running since 2009.

It was founded by Jen Blackwell and her parents after she found it difficult to find opportunities in community dance that were accessible to people with learning disabilities.

Jen wanted to co-lead community dance sessions without her disability being a barrier, so DanceSyndrome developed a co-production model where dance leaders with learning disabilities work in equal partnership with professional dance artists to create activities that are accessible to everyone.

The charity currently co-delivers four public in-person Everybody Dance community sessions and five online sessions every week.