North Northants Council round off 50 years of Shape Dance celebrations

06 April 2022

Shape Dance logo

North Northants Council along with Shape dancers, The National Heritage Lottery Fund and other guests rounded off 50 years of Shape dance celebrations on Saturday 26 March.

Over the last three years, thanks to National Lottery players and funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Shape Dance, a dance scheme which has been running in Corby for over 50 years and which provides weekly dance lessons for over 300 children aged four and above, have been commemorating the milestone of turning 50 with a number of projects and events. 

In March, they held one final event, a formal gathering at the Holiday Inn which was the perfect opportunity to thank North Northants Council, the Heritage Fund, Shape dancers and teachers and everyone who has been involved with the scheme over the last 5 decades. 

The Heritage Fund supported a wide range of projects to help bring the Shape Dance story to life and to celebrate the impact that the council’s dance scheme has had on many children’s and families lives over the years. Volunteers from the dance programme undertook Oral History training with the University of Leicester to learn techniques and interviewing skills to undertake research for the project, open events were arranged where participants from over the years were asked to bring along old photos, costumes, and stories to share. A photo wall of the 50 years of Shape Dance were designed and have been shown in a variety of settings. A hugely successful reunion dance, which brought over 90 ex-dancers together, was filmed and shown at the 2019 Christmas show where there was also a personal film played from professional dancer, Louis Spence, congratulating Shape Dance on 50 years.

The Shape Dance Celebrating 50 years documentary was filmed throughout the project and helped pull together the story and highlight the impact that this important scheme has had on the lives of so many people over the years. This documentary saw its official debut over the weekend and will be shared over the coming weeks with the wider community. 

 “What a fantastic milestone to reach! This is such a huge achievement, and it was an honour to be involved with the final celebration. Shape dance is a scheme that over 300 children are currently attending which is amazing as we all know how important it is for children to be active and have a healthy hobby. Congratulations and may the success continue!”Deputy Leader of North Northants Council and Executive member for Sport, Leisure and Tourism, Cllr Helen Howell

“A huge congratulations to everyone involved with Shape dance. It is thanks to their hard work and dedication to the scheme that it has come this far and continues to thrive – here’s to the next 50 years!” Leader of North Northants Council, Cllr Jason Smithers

Notes to Editor
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund 

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk
 
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund 
 
Since the National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK.

Each week, thanks to National Lottery players, £30 million is raised for good causes across the UK.