The NYB Outreach Fit to Dance programme has been active throughout the year. The team led by Jo Meredith has taken the theme from Rainbow Bear and focused on issues surrounding the arctic environment, animal behaviour, conservation and climate change.

The content of the workshops is tailored to the abilities of the children with special needs and the theme of the workshops has been extremely popular with both children and the staff! They appreciated having experts coming in to the school providing a new experience for the children, and several schools have asked if we could come back in the future.

As Jo Meredith said "I have loved bringing The Rainbow Bear workshops to schools. The children have really engaged with the themes of the ballet whether they are experimenting with how a polar bear may move, imagining how the bear feels when trapped in the zoo or grappling with the more complex balletic moves. We have seen some fantastic boxing hares, some very grumpy walruses, some fearsome hunters and even a couple of hip-hop Shamans. The children have relished dancing to Stephen Barlow's expressive and dramatic music and have at times astounded me by their insight into the story and their knowledge about the arctic. I hope that the workshops have made them realise that anybody, no matter what their background, can dance and that ballet can be engaged with and enjoyed by all!"

Thanks to the funding from the Ernest Cook Trust and the Foyle Foundation, 2-day Outreach workshops have been held this year in the following schools:

Ashford Oaks Primary School, Ashford
Darenth Community Primary School, Dartford
Dorton House, Seal. Special school for visually impaired children
John Wesley Primary School, Ashford
Moor House School, Hurst Green. Specialising in the education of children with communication disorders.
Longmead Community Primary School, Tonbridge
Oaktrees Community School, Maidstone
Southborough Primary School, Southborough
The Vale School, Haringey for children with physical disabilities