A commitment to Education

ACE dance and music are committed to creating new opportunities for young people and the wider community to experience high quality African, Caribbean, Contemporary dance and music, each year working with over 3.5 thousand young people.

What we offer

ACE offer an exciting programme of opportunities to inspire participants and develop their skills and understanding of dance, we run a thriving youth company and host regular dance classes for young people from aged two upwards as well as teaching dance to young people across the country alongside our busy touring programme. Our workshops range from one hour taster sessions to week-long residencies, we specialise in tailoring work to your needs.  Please download an information pack to find out more:

Values

ACE dance and music is a family friendly organisation, we open the doors to our dance space in Birmingham and invite young people and members of the community to get involved. As well as short sessions of dance contact with thousands of people we are one of the few dance companies in the UK who offer real continuity to participants, with regular classes and long-term progression pathways. Four of our ACE youth members have gone on to train professionally at The Northern School of contemporary dance.  Three of our ex ACE youth members now assist leading our classes and choreographing new work for ACE youth.  We offer mentoring in all aspects of working in the dance sector and promote a healthy, vibrant atmosphere where young people thrive.

Information Packs

Are you a venue and interested in us coming to you and leading a workshop?

Click here to download our venue workshop information pack

Are you a school or educational organisation and interested in us coming to you and leading a workshop?

Click here to download our workshop menu

“...the girls had an absolute ball and wanted to do it all day long – it flew by!...They [the dancers] had a really good relationship with the pupils and pitched it perfectly, there was a great feeling of respect and admiration from the pupils throughout the workshop.” (Ellie Bunn, Head of Dance at Colmers School Bham)

“I enjoyed being able to work with talented dancers relating to a performance which we watched.  I also enjoyed being pushed and trying out a new style.” (18 yr old, Joseph Chamberlain School)

"We want to attract a young audience aswell as regular dance-goers, so we go out into the community before performances & present dance workshops. They drum up interest & we get people to come along via word of mouth, it's being going absolutely fantastically. Audiences have been blown away, we know because we hand out evaluation forms, it's great to have feedback.  People think that contemporary dance is abstract & that they won't understand it, but our work is very physical & people totally enjoy it. Audiences tell us they have been mesmerised." Gail Parmel, Artistic Director

"I wanted to say what a fantastic workshop leader Amayra is. I have worked with many artists in community settings across all artforms and Amayra is one of the best I have ever seen. Her whole approach, her way of making people feel at ease and enjoy the sessions through her own clear enjoyment.Her sessions are well structured with a good warm up and cool down, space for  participants to use their own creativity as well as learn skills. She has a way of picking up on particular individuals and making what they've done slightly differently into a positive that is thenshared and taken on by the whole class. I realise this will be a combination of Amayra's own natural personality and a lot of techniques picked up in her training and particuarly working through ACE. She is a credit and huge asset to your already fantastic company. I can't praise her enough. I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to work with her." Jenny Henrywood, Creative Company

Classes at The Link Dance Space

We have an exciting range  of classes on offer in 2009. There is something for everyone, so please peruse times and give the office a call to book your space. 

Parents & Tots // 2 – 4 years & parents // Saturdays // 10.00am–10.45am // Develop movement skills for early years through dance

Funky Fusion // 5 – 8 years // Saturdays // 11.00am–12.00pm // Fun session of dance

Fused // 9 – 11 years // Saturdays // 12.15pm-1.15pm // Develop movement and performance skills in dance

ACE Youth // 12-18 years // Thursday evenings // Extend your dance skills, perform and train

Adult African Dance // Every other Tuesday // 7pm – 8.15pm // Work out, move to new rhythms

Classes get booked in advance per term but work out approximately £4 per session. If you haven’t taken part in our classes before we offer the first class free as a taster. So come along and give it a try!