Haringey schoolgirls get dancing to improve fitness (From Haringey Independent)

Haringey schoolgirls get dancing to improve fitness

9:00am Monday 8th February 2010 in

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A DANCE troupe made up of Haringey schoolgirls performed at a Highgate arts centre on Sunday to mark the end of an initiative to get young people more active.

The pupils, aged between 11 and 16, from Fortismere, Highgate Wood and Hornsey School for Girls signed up to Jam Free, a contemporary dance project run by Sadler's Wells Theatre and London Youth Dance.

The crew delivered their premier performance, entitled Journey, at Jacksons Lane arts cente, in Archway Road, alongside professional youth performers.

The youth project targets schools where pupils are failing to achieve the Government's recommendation of five hours of physical exercise per week.

Panni Kanyuk, project manager for Jam Free said: "We want to engage teenage schoolgirls to get moving.

"Our special flavour of dance is acrobalance and acrobatic dance, forms of movement which represent an ideal cross between physical activity and dance.

"Together the girls and their teachers have had fun, learned new skills, and bounced ideas to make up the piece.

"I very much hope we’ve been able to encourage the girls to keep up with dance and acrobatics and we are excited to be bringing more creative learning projects to youth in north London."

At the start of the project the dancers were not used to the dance styles but, over the course of 11 workshops, picked up basic skills under the guidance of tutors and choreographer Natasha Khamjani.