Each year Biserk offers a versatile range of dance workshops for young people and professional dancers in schools, colleges, youth clubs, theatres and community centres.

Biserk’s workshops for young people aim to inspire and motivate by giving participants the confidence to express themselves through movement (within a safe environment) and to provide a sense of personal achievement amongst their peers. Workshops have a strong social skills element encouraging young people to work as part of a team and company dancers deliver the workshops, who become positive role models for the participants, especially in the boys’ sessions.

DANCE 4 yOUTh
In 2004 the company, in collaboration with local arts officers, town and district council representatives, schools and youth clubs, undertook a rural dance pilot project across Oxfordshire funded by the Oxfordshire Community Foundation (Local Network Fund).

Nearly 100 young people aged 11-16 took part, giving them the experience of working with a professional company and attending a performance of One Third of a Picture. The project placed a strong emphasis on encouraging boys to dance and from its success Biserk has been able to set up further sessions on a long-term basis.

In the last 12 months Biserk has also delivered workshops for the following groups:
Vision Youth Dance Company
Open Company Class- Pegasus Theatre Witney Boys Group
Cherwell Youth dance
Wodensfield Primary School, Wolverhampton (Creative Partnerships)
Dublin Youth Dance Company
Bucks Dance Summer workshop
Bucks Youth Dance
Hills Road 6th Form College, Cambridge
Abingdon College
Wantage & Grove Youth Club
Daventry Tertiary College
King Alfred's School, Wantage
WODC Dancewest project

“The day was amazing, great, a lot of fun”
Didcot Girls School Participant in ‘Boys Go Biserk’ 2004

“Interesting, exciting & a challenge to all pupils”
Coventry University Jill Stew, teacher

Biserk runs 3 Youth Dance Companies: Young Biserk (Banbury) Vision (Wantage) and New Vision (Wantage & Faringdon) and has worked on many other youth dance projects in the region including: The Mill Youth Dance Groups, Kidlington Youth Dance, Danceweb (for Bucks Dance), Thame Arts Week, Thame Oddessy 2001.

For more information about Biserk Dance Company’s education work please contact
Sarah Bishop, Associate Director on 01993 851378