Confidance Inclusive Dance Classes!

Volunteering, jobs & education

Our community classes have provided more than just access to dance—they’ve offered a foundation for personal and professional development. Participants learned core dance techniques, choreography, and performance skills through inclusive teaching methods. Just as importantly, they developed confidence, communication, and independence—key skills that support employability and long-term engagement in the creative industries. For many of our dancers, particularly those who are NEET or have limited access to arts education in SEND settings, this has been their first step toward a viable career in dance. Through our ConfiCo training programme, we’ve taken this further by supporting learning disabled dancers to train and work at a professional level. Weekly classes build performance and choreographic skills, while public performance opportunities and tailored, wraparound career support ensure that each dancer is supported in their professional journey. This work is not just about inclusion—it’s about equity. We’re creating real, sustainable routes into employment in the arts for people who are too often excluded from these opportunities. And thanks to this programme, we now have learning disabled dancers actively shaping their own careers, contributing to the professional dance sector, and paving the way for others to follow.

Arts, culture & heritage

Our project contributed meaningfully to Arts, Culture & Heritage by making the cultural landscape more inclusive, representative, and accessible to people with learning disabilities—an often underrepresented group in the arts. We showcased this through high-quality, inclusive public performances, such as our contribution to the Folkestone Living Advent Calendar in December 2024, where dancers with and without learning disabilities performed together for an audience of over 200 people. This event placed inclusive dance at the heart of a well-established cultural offer, helping to reshape public perceptions of who can participate in and contribute to cultural life. We also hosted open workshops that brought together community members and arts professionals to dance, learn, and explore inclusive practices. These sessions created space for dialogue, skill-sharing, and the development of inclusive methodologies that can be carried forward across the wider cultural sector. By centring disabled voices and bodies in visible, celebrated cultural moments, our project challenged barriers to participation and helped redefine heritage and culture as something that belongs to—and should reflect—everyone. This work not only enriched the artistic offer in our region, but also laid the groundwork for a more diverse and sustainable cultural future.

Activity, health and leisure

From our evaluation, we found that the learning disabled adults and young people who joined us felt that the classes had a significant impact on both their physical and mental health. Over the course of the project, participants enjoyed dance together weekly, and found that the accessible approach allowed them to improve their fitness, move better and use their voices - all of which make for a happier and healthier life. Quotes from participants: “I like the free flow bit and connecting with people” (Participant) “I’ve really enjoyed being with other people and making dances” (Participant) “I’ve talked more since coming to dance” (Participant) “The person I support has really grown in confidence; the fact that they are speaking out loud and using his voice has been surprising, let alone the bravery to perform and share his ideas” (Support worker) “Learning a dance together helps me make more friends” (participant) “I like this company, I want to do this forever” (participant) “ I feel strong because I feel confident” (participant) “I love the way everyone's ideas are in the choreography - it is so empowering” (Participants PA) “It makes me sleep easier and feel relaxed at the night-time” (participant) Across the classes, 90% of participants said that they had: Learnt new dance skills Expressed themselves Felt more confident Been creative Performed a dance Felt independent Made new friends (or re-connected with old friends) Felt fit and healthy