8:18am Thursday 13th September 2007
By Emma Clayton
Baby ballet, special needs drama classes and sing-along shows are just some of the offerings from a new performing arts troupe set up by a group of musical theatre enthusiasts in Bradford.
The New Community Arts Academy, based in the Bolton Road area, will offer lessons in dance, drama and singing.
The academy, which also aims to stage productions, will be launched this month with a family fun event.
Co-founder Anne Snowden, who will head a team of tutors with Russell Whittingham, says the organisation will include tuition for youngsters with special needs.
"I work at Haycliffe Special School and I've seen first-hand the difference that getting involved with drama makes to young people with disabilities and learning difficulties," she says.
"It helps to build confidence, motivation and co-ordination. I'm keen to give children with special needs the opportunity to do something outside school.
"The classes will be for people with all abilities, aged from three to 103. We're aiming to promote the arts, to encourage people - especially young people - to become involved in arts activities, and produce our own shows. This kind of facility at affordable prices is very limited, especially for young people at school or college, so we hope the new venture will fill that gap.
"Our first production will probably be a Christmas carol concert. We're also holding a dance night and eventually we aim to put on a big annual show and pantomimes."
The group is being run by a group of friends who have extensive experience in theatre. "We have known each other a long time and we've all been involved in various productions over the years," says Anne.
"Russell and I have both studied dance and drama for diplomas and have held theatre and dance classes for young people for a number of years.
"We're all pooling our expertise to develop the talents of the next generation, and to provide opportunities for anyone else who wants to get involved in amateur theatre.
"We've got a lot of fundraising to do but we're all very excited about getting it all up and running.
"We're indebted to David Swailes, the vicar at Bolton St James's Church on Bolton Road who has offered the excellent facilities of the church community centre for the venture," adds Anne.
"David is very supportive and enthusiastic about the project. There are several established groups based at the community centre and we hope to work with them and provide opportunities for their members to appear in our productions."
Anne's son, Anthony, left, who beat thousands of hopefuls to compete on BBC1's DanceX this summer, will have input into the dance classes.
"He's bringing his own brand of street dance and hip-hop to some of the sequences," says Anne. "We're offering free dance classes for the first half term so people can come along and give it a go."
The classes will start on September 25 and 26 and, prior to that, there will be a special launch night at Bolton St James's Church community hall on Wednesday, September 19 from 7pm.
"Bradford City player Mark Bower and former City player Paul Bolland will be attending, subject to availability, and we'll have some local councillors there," says Anne's husband Mick. "Anyone interested in joining us, including parents and children, will be made very welcome.
"There'll be plenty of entertainment and we'll be on hand to provide information about the venture and our aims and objectives."
Anthony will be performing street dance demonstrations as part of the entertainment. As the T&A reported last week, Anthony's performance on BBC1's DanceX impressed judges Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli and, as a result of appearing on the show, he was offered a three-year scholarship to do a performing arts degree at a theatre school in Leeds.
"Anthony will be involved in our community arts academy as much as he can," says Anne. "We're all looking forward to the hard work that lays ahead in order to launch and establish a successful new arts academy serving the Bradford community."
The group would like to hear from any businesses interested in supporting them.
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