WIDance News

December 2024 - Celebrating Growth, Connections and New Horizons 

As we near the close of 2024, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the remarkable journey we've had at WIDance this year.

From new classes and workshops to exciting partnerships and outreach programs, this has been a year of growth, connection, and achievement.
We couldn’t have done it without the incredible people who make WIDance what it is. A heartfelt thank you to our dancers, our artistic director, our funders, our board, our tutors and our supporters working behind the scenes. We see each and every one of you and thank you for generously giving time, thoughts, and energy to support our organization in countless ways; you are deeply appreciated and truly invaluable. What a year it has been!

We are already getting excited for 2025, with our R.A.D/WIDance Tīaho Summer School in January, a Cuba Dupa performance in March, and in July we celebrate our 15th Anniversary.  We will be marking this huge achievement with a variety of special events and activities, so watch this space.

Here’s to a relaxing Christmas and an exciting 2025, full of new possibilities and continued collaboration.
Thank you for being part of the WIDance family. Here’s to dancing!

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season. Meri Kirihimete from the entire WIDance team.

November 2024 - Royal Academy of Dance NZ partners with WIDance 
Summer School Announced

Earlier this year the esteemed Royal Academy of Dance New Zealand partnered with WIDance and Limelight Dance Academy to launch the Tīaho pilot project for inclusive dance in schools. The project was a great success, and we are pleased to announce January 16th and 17th 2025 will see two days of Tīaho workshops here in Pōneke, as part of the upcoming Royal Academy of Dance Sumer School.

The Tīaho Summer School is a series of inclusive workshops designed for children, youth, and adults of all abilities. The workshops will offer a playful and accessible approach to dance, focusing on creativity, movement, and expression. Participants will explore dance through music, props, and collaborative activities in a fun and supportive environment. Each group will have the opportunity to share their creations during a studio sharing session on the final afternoon, celebrating the culmination of work over the two days together.

October 2024 - Royal New Zealand Ballet Open Workshops continue to be a huge success

The end of October wraps up our season of the incredibly successful Royal New Zealand Ballet Open Workshops for 2024. Led by the talented Education Team of The Royal New Zealand Ballet, workshops were held in April, July and October, and consistently fully booked out fast each time. 
Each workshop is created to be inclusive, welcoming, challenging and fun; a unique opportunity to learn ballet skills and repertoire from Aotearoa’s National Ballet company. This year we have been thrilled to learn snippets of choreography from Swan Lake, Solace and Midsummer Night's Dream.  It's been an absolute pleasure, and we are already looking forward to more in 2025!

 September 2024 - Inclusive Teaching Workshop Tutors Announced

We are thrilled to reveal the fantastic line up of tutors for our 2nd annual Inclusive Teaching Workshop coming up on Sunday 13th October 2024.  WIDance Artistic Director Sumara Fraser will be joined by Sarah Davies and Rachel Horwell. The trio will be sharing their practical and creative insights into inclusive teaching during an enriching four-hour session, open to all those interested in facilitating dance experiences.
From Designing and Scaffolding Inclusive tasks, Dancing with the Deaf Community and tips and tricks to Dancing Safely, the workshop promises to be an insightful and enjoyable day. Get in touch to find out more and secure your spot!

August 2024 - WIDance attends Creative Spaces Conference

WIDance had the pleasure of attending the Ngā Wāhi Auaha Creative Spaces Conference 2024, organised by Arts Access Aotearoa and held in Wellington on 22 and 23 August. The conference was attended by 150 creative space leaders, artists, art tutors and speakers from Aotearoa and abroad, held at the stunning Pōneke waterfront venue with additional participants joining online.
What a fabulous reflection of creativity, sparking new local, national and international thoughts, connections and ideas.
Ngā mihi nui to the entire team at Arts Access Aotearoa and the Creative Spaces Network.

July 2024 - Happy 14th Birthday to WIDance!

It's been 14 years since WIDance was formally established and what a wonderful ride it has been. 
We have seen so many incredible dancers over the years and together have created a very special dance whānau, which continues to grow. 

WIDance is so proud to have gone from strength to strength over the years... from our once-a-week contemporary dance classes on a Saturday in 2010, to now offering multiple inclusive classes, workshops, collaborations, employment opportunities and stunning performances across the greater Wellington area.

With so much aroha we celebrate the magic of the past 14 years and can't wait to see what the future brings. Let’s dance!
Arohanui, from the entire WIDance team.

June 2024 - Exciting Collaboration Announcement

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) New Zealand National Director Bronwyn Williams and WIDance Artistic Director Sumara Fraser have come together to sign an MOU, marking the beginning of an inspiring partnership. Together, RAD and WIDance, working with Limelight Dance Academy in Hamilton, present Tīaho, a pilot project for Aotearoa based on the RADiate programme in the UK. 
WIDance is thrilled to collaborate with the RAD and excited to embark on the project here in Aotearoa. 

May 2024 - WIDance Artistic Director attends IRIS training

IRIS! We are very proud to announce WIDance Artistic Director Sumara Fraser has recently completed a four-day online IRIS syllabus tutor training with UK-based Stopgap Dance Company. The IRIS training intensive followed on from the online Stopgap Seedbed workshops Sumara attended in mid-2023. 

Looking forward to sharing the new skills here in Aotearoa , Sumara reflects: "The experience was wonderful, with a supportive global community of teachers and loads of amazing resources. Stopgap provides incredible support and encourages connections and community building for all those trained in the IRIS syllabus. The training has greatly inspired my creative content planning, sparking fresh ideas, and numerous ways to deliver new, and exciting content to all our participants across the Wellington region... it was totally worth navigating the time difference to attend sessions...let's just say I drank a fair few cups of tea to stay awake!"

Stopgap Dance Company is driven by a diverse creative team that uses dance as a movement for change. Their mission is to create an inclusive world where diversity is not just accepted but pursued, a world where no one is limited by prejudice against Deaf, Disabled, or neurodivergent people.

IRIS is an inclusive dance syllabus that gives teachers a framework to develop the disabled dancers of tomorrow and supports creative and rigorous learning while still being inclusive of all. 
Ngā mihi nui to the team at Stopgap Dance.