Leap Forward Partnerships

Leap Forward aims to involve people of different ages, experiences and backgrounds in dance activity. In partnership with other organisations, Maiden Voyage co-ordinates and leads a variety of dance projects, courses, classes and workshops. These are run at a local and regional level and tailored to the specific context and chosen focus.

Current Partner projects include:

• Open Arts weekly workshops for adults with special needs
• Open Arts Creative Legacies programme - Facilitating dance skills, working with film and performance project for adults with special needs
• Breakitdown - an introduction to street dance OCN accredited course with the Southern Area Health Board Wellbeing Promotion Team
• Playboard After School programme promoting physical activity in 7-11 yr olds
• Prime Cut Right Here Right Now Outreach project

Open Arts - Maiden Voyage and long-term partner Open Arts have been working closely together on a range of different programmes including:

- Dance for All, a weekly skill based dance workshop for a range of participants from across Belfast

- Creative Legacies, a year long programme to develop dance and performance skills. The project is designed to meet the needs of disabled people by providing accessibility to the arts and raising awareness of disabled people and their ability not disability.

- Out of the Shadows, a dance, film and music project for older people with disabilities, is held in partnership with Open Arts. The participating groups have completed their short dances filmed in Belfast's Victoria Centre, Ormeau Park and Crescent Park. The final phase of the project is a live music and shadow dance performance and sharing of the films by Pixelbrix in Spring 2011.

BreakitDown - A street dance programme for the Promoting Wellbeing Team at Southern Health & Social Care Trust designed to build facilitation skills and encourage youth leaders and workers to undertake dance-based activity with their groups. This OCN Level 2 accredited course, which was first offered in November 2009 with 15 participants from across Lurgan, Craigavon, Armagh and Newry, returns in November 2010.

Playboard - Maiden Voyage have been delivering an annual series of dance workshops promoting physical activity with young people at after-school clubs and youth groups for the past 3 years. The programme offers a fun energetic introduction to various types of dance activity from creative dance through to hip-hop.

Legacy Trust programme - Maiden Voyage will assist in ongoing skill development for people with a disability who want to learn how to work as dance tutors in the community arts sector.

Prime Cut – Right Here Right Now Project
Maiden Voyage have teamed up with Prime Cut to offer physical movement workshops choreographic support for Prime Cut’s outreach project.
Partner organisations include Ardoyne Young Women’s Group, New Lodge Arts, Westland Community Group.