Second Hand Dance presents...
As part of bOing! 2024 International Family Festival!
Co-created by Rosie Heafford and Takeshi Matsumoto
For family audiences and autistic/neurodivergent children aged 3-7 years old
Three dancers’ shimmy through the audience weaving a tapestry of sticky tape in this tactile dance performance for young children. They invite you to tape, stick and groove, to see and feel sound or to be still, watch and listen. Audiences are encouraged to explore freely, choosing how they engage, and turning the rules upside down.
The Sticky Dance is an interactive, engaging and colourful performance installation for autistic/neurodivergent children and their families.
The Sticky Dance is open for 60 minutes for each performance, although you can choose to enter and leave the space when you choose.
Late comers and re-entry is permitted, however if the space is already full, we may ask you to wait.
The age guidance: 3-7 years with parent/carer.
Notes on Access
- Children and families choose how they interact with the performers and the space.
- There are no words as part of the performance, but the company may give some instructions or say hello
- A visual story to help your family prepare for the experience is available here.
- The Sticky Dance does not use bright or flashing lights although it does incorporate a soundscape through speakers embedded in the set.
- Some of the structures in the set incorporate technology which translates the music into vibration.
- There is seating in the space including floor cushions and chairs.
- The performance installation is interactive, but you can participate in anyway you feel comfortable; watching, listening, touching, dancing or moving about. You can find your own way to be; and our performers are there to join you, or play alongside you
About Second Hand Dance
Established in 2013, Second Hand Dance has an adaptive leadership model, and is run by disabled and non-disabled Co-Directors Rosie Heafford and Claire Summerfield. We work (inter)nationally with local and regional impact creating joyful, inspirational performances and digital dance films for children and adults. We collaborate with dancers, film makers, animators, musicians and our audiences in a co-creation process that is accessible, welcoming to all bodies, and places the audience experience at its centre.
Our work has been presented in venues/festivals across three continents: The Lincoln Centre (NY), Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Sadler’s Wells, Dublin Theatre Festival, Esplanade Theatre (Singapore), Cheers! Festival (Hong Kong) and Ricca Ricca Festival (Japan). In 2016 Rosie was winner of the Arts Foundation Children’s Theatre Shortlist award.
We are Artistic Advisor to Sadlers’ Wells with a focus on their family programme.
