Pupils have been immersed in the exciting world of dance as part of The Close project, run by Scottish Ballet.
The Close is an education project which gives young people, who may not have had the opportunity to engage with classical dance, an enriching cultural experience. For young people affected by adversity, and who have faced difficult experiences, it provides a means of expression, a chance to explore their creativity and develop valuable teamwork skills.
As part of the project, pupils and staff attended a VIP performance of Scottish Ballet’s upcoming big production. After being mesmerised by the performance, pupils had the chance to take part in dance taster workshops at The Tramway, home of the Scottish Ballet. The pupils loved every minute of the experience and one boy aged 13, even performed a dance solo in front of his classmates.
To say the pupils gained a lot from the experience was an understatement. As pupil Robert said about the experience “it calms you down if you’re very stressed, it helps you calm down and think of the dance and if something has gone on you can just forget about it and you’re in the mode, you just totally forget about everything and you just focus on dance all the time”. Class teacher Chris McDonald spoke of the positive changes he saw in the pupils over the course of the project as they developed stronger friendships and learned about teamwork.
Lisa Sinclair, Special Projects Manager at Scottish Ballet has been in touch to thank pupils and staff for their trust and dedication to the project stating “What a wonderful group of artists we had the pleasure of working with”.
We look forward to working with Scottish Ballet in the future to open up incredible life opportunities for the pupils. The partnership is invaluable for Kibble, and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support and commitment.