Transported and artsNK are happy to announce that we will be partnering with People Dancing for ’11 Million Reasons to Dance’, a national project positively profiling disabled, deaf and sight-impaired people who dance. The project has been commissioned by People Dancing and supported by Unlimited Impact and Arts Council England.

At the beginning of 2017, Spalding will host ’11 Million Reasons to Dance’, a photography exhibition that has re-imagined iconic cinematic moments with deaf, sight-impaired and disabled dancers. The exhibition, created by photographer Sean Goldthorpe, is the inspiration for the project and its name refers to the 11 million + disabled people living in the UK.

Project partners include Doncaster Community Arts, Tin Arts, ArtsNK, The Brindley/Halton Borough Council and Coventry Performing Arts Service. The organisations are all collaborating with local venues, dance artists, education establishments and cultural agencies to create an exciting programme of dance development and touring to new audiences in six locations: Coventry, Doncaster, Durham, Spalding in Lincolnshire, Middlesbrough and Runcorn, Cheshire.

The inspiring collection of photographs will be exhibited at Ayscoughfee Hall from 9th January to 3rd February, and the South Holland Centre from 14th to 22nd February 2016. The exhibition will also include a short film about the project and an interactive ‘dance booth’ to capture the public’s imagination and experience of the exhibition and give them an opportunity to create their own 11 Million Reasons image.

The headline performance will take place at 7pm on 22 February at South Holland Centre,  and will feature a performance by Stopgap Dance Company, in addition to various local community dance groups, including Diamondz DG, Allen School of Dance and Performing Arts and Polka Dot Dance Academy and dancers from our Inclusive Dance programme. Tickets will be £3 each and booking is through the South Holland Box Office on 01775 764777 or through their website.

Learn more about and view the films for the project here.