MOVEMA

Movema supports people in making dance a central part of their lives, providing regular, accessible, high-quality programmes for a wide intersection of society, particularly developing projects that are co-produced by and benefit our people with lived experience. 

This includes; pioneering training, employment opportunities, and up-skilling individuals, developing transferable skills that improve their lives and communities.  As well as our immediate beneficiaries, our work impacts our wider society through public shows, parades, outdoor events, and festival performances. 

Our Vision 

World dance is celebrated and enables people to create art, improve their health and wellbeing, and heal divisions in and between communities. We aspire to be a leading light in the Northwest and Southwest for diverse dance practice including artist training, community work and creative projects.

 Our Mission

• To share culturally diverse dances in safe spaces increasing understanding and tolerance.
• To co-create with our communities and artists a programme of performances, participatory workshops and artist training which celebrates and amplifies the strengths in our communities.
• To reach out to and transform lives of those most in need, especially those who have experienced barriers that have impacted their ability to engage with dance.

Our Values

• Grow - We empower individuals to express themselves creatively and live full and enriching lives by offering opportunities to participate and explore new experiences.
• Inspire - We raise the ambitions of artists and communities; we inspire audiences to think differently about culture and identity.
• Unite - We create safer spaces to bring different people together nurturing understanding, unity and lasting connections.

Over the past 2 years we have engaged with a wide variety of audiences and communities to experience dance and different world cultures. Key achievements have included:

• Shortlisted for a 2023 National Diversity Awards, for Race, Religion and Faith (aired on ITV).
• Eurovision Parade in Liverpool in 2023, featured as a highlighted organisation on the BBC.
• Co-Created a performance involving 25 community participants and 6 professional artists, which was performed for 10,000+ spectators at The Grand National.
• 3 years of ‘Wildfire Rising’, an associate artist programme that remove barriers of inequality by investing in and supporting dance artists from the Global Majority. 
• Lunar New Year events in partnership with Liverpool City Council annually for 14 years, with public performances showcasing East and Southeast Asian culture to audiences of 5k.
• Running the Oye Active Zone at Africa Oye Festival for 15 years, providing free enriching workshops and performances from the African Diaspora for the wider NW community, improving social cohesion and tolerance.
• 10 Professional performances of ‘Taking Flight’ involving 12 ethnically diverse dance artists, with audiences of 21,900, and 1300 young participants through the outreach programme.
• 3 years of running ‘Celebrate With Me’, outdoor festival in South Gloucestershire and with Bristol Refugee Festival, providing opportunities for resettled communities to make friendships with local people.
• 3 years running ‘All Things Dance’ with Diverse Artists Network in Bristol. Showcasing 30+ diverse dancers and participants to connect, strengthening and providing visibility for unrepresented dance community.
• 20 professional and emerging dance practitioners trained and developed annually, through projects including World In A Box and Making Moves.
• 20 Community performances annually in Liverpool and Bristol regions, including Black History Month, Diwali, St Patrick’s Day and St Paul’s Carnival. Involving 500 performers, employing 25+ artist for 50k audiences.
• World in a Box (WIAB) digital platform and resource for schools and community groups. A creative cross curricular tool, using dance from around the world to provide learning opportunities relating to wider topics including geography, history, language, and religion.