High Barnet's community dance group D2D -- Dare to Dance -- are one of the groups preparing for a North London dance festival early next year.
Generations Dance Day will be open to all ages and abilities with free entry at the artsdepot in North Finchley on Saturday 17 February.
“This will be a unique dance festival,” says organiser Maga Judd, a dance teacher and choreographer who leads the D2D weekly sessions every Thursday at the Wesley Hall in Stapylton Road.
“We want to bring local communities together, from the youngest to the oldest, in a festival of dance that will be a lot of fun.”
An appeal has been launched to help finance the all-day festival, which will include six multi-generational workshops with four dance teachers.
So far, a crowdfunding campaign has raised about 40 per cent of the estimated cost of £9,000 – but much more will need to be pledged by the deadline for the appeal of the 20th of December:
https://www.spacehive.com/generations-dance-day-in-north-london
The success of Dare to Dance, a weekly creative class for seniors established in High Barnet in 2010, is the inspiration for the festival next February which Ms Judd is promising will be a free, family-friendly festival in the spring half-term holiday.
“This will be a unique opportunity for children, parents, and grandparents to spend time together participating in and watching dance.
“It will be a chance to be dazzled by fantastic performances, learn new moves with brilliant dance artists and dance together in a jam session with musicians.”
The festival will highlight six performances by local groups of all ages and abilities.
D2D are planning to stage a specially created piece which will require weeks of rehearsal under the direction of Ms Judd who leads the sessions with the assistance of her father in law Nick Judd who is the rehearsal and performance musician on piano and percussion.
Ms Judd took over as the group’s creative director and choreographer in 2021. She is a lecturer in dance and professional practice at Middlesex University where a group of students are also starting to rehearse a special performance for the festival.
Earlier this year she was project manager and artistic director for the 9th annual dance festival in Poland.
She hopes the free workshops at the artsdepot festival will appeal to parents and children of low-income families and especially single parents.
“A dance festival brings together local communities in a creative and friendly environment and promotes healthy wellbeing, reduces stress and self-isolation and is lots of fun.”
