Background and History
Dance United Yorkshire (DUY) was established in 2011 as a Community Interest Company (CIC) and later became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in 2019.
The organisation has enjoyed continued success working with marginalised communities and was welcomed into Arts Council England’s National Portfolio in 2015.
DUY has achieved its success by:
Developing a robust business model to meet the needs of our regional partners and remain viable in a challenging economic environment.
Evolving projects and a recruitment strategy to include the needs of both young people and referral agencies.
Maintaining historic partnerships whilst also forging new partnerships in other areas regionally, nationally and internationally.
Developing our regional workforce through training and investing in local, Yorkshire based practitioners.
Further investing in choreographic development including work with established and pioneering artists and organisations.
DUY is a Bradford-based organisation but has also delivered projects in Leeds, Calderdale, York, Dewsbury, Batley, Huddersfield, Hull, Aberdeen, London, Wrexham, The Netherlands, Aruba and Jamaica.
The evolution of DUY’s radical work reflects an adventure that started in Ethiopia, before journeying to Bradford via London.
Ethiopia, 1995: TV producer Andrew Coggins was in Addis Ababa working on the BBC film project ’10 Years after Live Aid’. He was profoundly affected by the plight of street children and resolved to intervene in some way, significantly influenced by an aid agency executive’s urging to “…not speak for the young people but give them the tools to speak for themselves”.
Andrew turned to the arts, and a collaboration was forged with three others sharing the same passion to make a difference: paediatrician and founder of the NGO Ethiopian Gemini Trust, Dr Carmela Abate; international choreographer and contemporary dance innovator Royston Maldoom; international dance artist and choreographer Mags Byrne.
Their novel vision was to establish a dance company comprised of street and working children, utilising precise and demanding artistic and technical disciplines as a catalyst for releasing latent potential.
Eighteen young people were selected to form the Adugna Dance Theatre Company. Over the next 5 years, supported by distinguished teachers from the UK, Europe and Africa, they trained and rehearsed on a concrete floor six days a week, eleven months a year, in the heart of the city slums. All trainees completed the programme, were presented with honorary BA (Dance) degrees by the University of Middlesex, and became professional dancers, choreographers and teachers.
Former UK police officer Blair Davies met the young Adugna members in 1996, whilst leading a UK Government funded police reform project in Ethiopia, and during the next 6 years incorporated Adugna’s expanding skills in dance, role play and advocacy as a key ‘voice of the people’ element in national police training programmes.
Since their graduation, Adugna members have performed internationally and enjoyed successful careers both in the arts and as advocates addressing social health and justice issues. Two of the company, Junaid Jemal Sendi and Addisu Demisse, proved exceptionally gifted. They have appeared on various international stages including headlining at Sadler’s Wells, and worked with renowned international choreographers such as Russell Maliphant and Hofesh Shechter. Junaid has been awarded the prestigious Rolex Young Protégé prize, the first African and (then) youngest dancer to be so recognised. They continue the Adugna legacy today, as the Destino Dance Company.
Dance United, 2000: Observing the progress of the Adugna project, Andrew witnessed a literal transforming of young lives and burgeoning of potential as the dancers developed at an extraordinary rate. This experience inspired him to explore, with Mags and Royston, the prospect of setting up a London based company to apply the same methodology in the UK. The result was Dance United (DU), with Andrew, Royston and Mags the founding directors. The company successfully established itself as a uniquely achieving and influential service deliverer, enabling Royston and Mags in due course to leave and pursue other comparable initiatives abroad.
DU focused on three key areas during its initial years, working with 1) diverse communities in Berlin in conjunction with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker 2) disadvantaged and disaffected young people living with the tensions of a divided community in Northern Ireland 3) offenders within the UK criminal justice system. The success and insights gained from the early years led to fundamental policy conclusions that continue as a bedrock for Dance United Yorkshire today:
Validating and embedding of DU’s distinctive methodology as a non-negotiable requirement in all interventions. This entails contemporary dance being at the core of the work and delivered through teaching disciplines that mirror the professional dance environment, based on the principle that the transformative power of dance is possible only through working towards and delivering high quality arts performances.
Deliberate targeting of socially marginalised individuals and groups.
Clarity of purpose in exploiting the medium of contemporary dance to cultivate transferable skills, attitudes and a sense of belief in self and others.
Recognition that few dance artists possess both the high-calibre qualities and aptitude to deliver effectively in this exceptionally challenging context.
Awareness that most people are initially sceptical (at best) that contemporary dance can be an effective medium for impacting disaffection and disadvantage.
It was essential to undertake action research to establish unequivocally the how and why DU’s contemporary dance training was so effective in addressing social exclusion. Yorkshire provided the opportunity to collaborate with a risk-taking youth justice team who were eager to participate in innovative approaches to working with young people in their care.
Dance United Academy, 2006: DU launched its academy in Bradford, offering a genuine alternative to conventional custody processes and a resource to develop artists capable of delivering DU’s unique methodology. Two of the early leading members were Helen Linsell and Duncan Bedson, and the Academy soon consolidated itself as a significant presence, working with a consortium of referral partners and support agencies. Intensive long term evaluations by Manchester University and other researchers consistently confirmed the outstanding impact and cost effectiveness of the interventions.
Dance United Yorkshire, 2011 – 2014 – 2019: Having validated the transforming effectiveness of their approach, secured reputational credibility and gained a wealth of experience, the Academy was renamed Dance United Yorkshire in 2011 and began its transition to self-governing independence by registering as a community investment company. DUY became wholly independent in 2014, and attained charitable status in 2019. Helen and Duncan have continued in their leadership roles throughout, currently as Artistic Director and General Manager respectively. Blair Davies has been chair of the board since 2014, and Andrew Coggins continues his association as Honorary President.
And so…on to creating the next phase of our history.
