For one day only, Monday 4 July, London’s City Hall will be transformed into a children’s dance workshop on a giant scale, organised by the Institute of Imagination as part of Big Dance 2016.
360 primary school children from five London boroughs have been invited to explore the cutting edge of the art, technology and science of movement in a unique series of workshops and performances throughout City Hall’s public spaces.
Brought together by the Institute of Imagination, the teams working on the day include Big Dance hub partner Siobhan Davies Dance, London Brain Project, School of Noise and Kano Computers. The children come from the London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth.
Gareth Binns, Chief Executive of the Institute of Imagination said: “The human body, our awareness of it, how we control and move it has a huge impact on how we learn, what we can imagine and how we live our lives. Through immersive and experiential workshops, children will engage and apply their imaginations and creativity to explore and experiencing movement.”
The Institute of Imagination exists to help children of all ages and from all backgrounds to develop the creative and imaginative skills they will need for the future. Since 2011, the Institute of Imagination has worked with over 8,000 children and their families through its mobile Imagination Labs and London workshops, delivering an innovative outreach programme that focuses on the power of creativity, play and invention in learning and development.
The Institute is also in the process of creating a permanent world-class cultural destination in London that will put children at its heart. This unique space will be a hybrid between a museum, gallery, community centre, science centre and laboratory – and fully dedicated to letting imaginations run free.
Big Dance is a biennial festival and one of the world’s biggest and most influential dance initiatives founded and funded by the Mayor of London in partnership with People Dancing and leading dance organisations across the UK. The Big Dance Week runs from 2 – 10 July 2016
Siobhan Davies Dance Founded and led since 1988 by pioneering choreographer Siobhan Davies, Siobhan Davies Dance has evolved over the years from a national and international touring dance company into an investigative contemporary arts organisation. We work with school children, young choreographers and teachers to explore ideas, concepts and themes through choreography. Starting with a simple stimulus we support participants to create movement by observing, listening, touching and experiencing, with no taught steps.
Kano creates computer and coding kits for all ages, all over the world. Its mission is to empower a new creative generation to make and play with technology, not just consume it.
