#WeMove
“‘When I heard that Impelo would no longer receive funding, I was devastated. I know this sounds dramatic but it has been life changing for me. There is no other organisation in our area that does what Impelo does. If it closes it will leave a huge gap that will probably never be filled.’”
As a charitable provider of community dance activities across Powys, we feel compelled to express our dismay at the wide-reaching impact of the re-organisation of Arts Council Wales’s portfolio following the investment review – not just for our own organisation, workforce and participants but for the community dance sector as a whole across Wales and for the disproportionate impact that cuts across art forms will have on those living in rural areas of Wales, in particular in Powys which sees a reduction in investment of almost a quarter of a million pounds.
Since January 2023, we’ve worked with many partners to deliver around 1,000 dance and creative movement sessions with 14,000 participations and presented 7 dance performances in schools, early years, health and care settings and at the dance centre. Around 270 people access the dance centre every week, giving regular and sustained income to 8 dance practitioners and project funding to support many more. Our eldest participant is 87 and our youngest is 12 weeks old. Bi-weekly our sessions transcend the dance centre and reach participants across Powys in care settings, dementia centres. This is in addition to our pioneering work in early years currently being delivered in Newtown where we’re creating a methodology to nurturing emotional development through dance and the Welsh language. The 10 schools we’re currently supporting are in the most deprived areas in Powys and we’re delivering specific and considered work here.
Ali Curzon Photography
Image has a purple wash over it and is of a dance studio full of parent and toddler participants, up close to the camera is a young girl and her dad tapping their hands together in a ‘high 10’. There is visible joy and happiness on their faces.
In the last year alone we’ve spent £109,000 on freelance dance artists and of our 5 part-time staff 3 are dance practitioners - our commitment to high quality dance experiences and nurturing dance talent in Wales keeps us adapting, questioning, improving and seeking new ways to deliver our work. We work regularly with 16 dance artists and last year those artists were supported by Impelo in the creation of Glanio and Epynt, two co-devised performances exploring climate justice and the Welsh language that both grew from community engagement and co-creation.
“Impelo give me a huge amount of hope that it is possible to not only survive, but thrive as a freelance dance artist outside of the city, something deeply important to me as someone who grew up in rural Wales”
It’s hard to digest what the impact on cultural life in Powys will be and has been over the last 10 years with continual cuts and decreased access to arts provision for our communities. The creative, curious people of rural Wales deserve wonderful and rich art experiences, and this investment review will undoubtedly reduce access to the arts for people across Powys.
The Arts Council Wales decision came as a shock. By every one of ACW’s corporate plan’s priorities that our portfolio status allowed us to deliver against, we have out-performed better resourced organisations across Wales when it comes to participation and ambitious socially engaged practice. Each year we work with around 40 health and third-sector organisations as well as schools, this is alongside our outreach to communities that are impacted by economic, systemic and health inequalities. These programmes in health and wellbeing, creative learning and inclusion, diversity and talent are genuinely co created, artistically ambitious and reach people that are not regular cultural attenders.
Full Mongrel & Co Photography
Image has a purple wash over it and shows an outdoor dance performance being undertaken by 10 performers. They are gathered around a bench with greenery surrounding them, they are on different levels with some sat and some standing. There is a male performer sat in the middle whilst the other performers are animated with their arms, depicting a fire burning. This is an image from our Epynt performance at Y Gaer in Brecon.
“ACW should be supporting an organisation like Impelo and using it as a benchmark for other organisations.
”
In the weeks since the announcement was made, we have spoken with supporters, participants, partner organisations and freelance workforce to gain a greater insight into the impact of our work and the potential impact on communities of a reduction or cessation in the company’s activities, us to decide upon a sustainable way forward.
We have been profoundly moved by heartfelt statements from people who had encountered Impelo’s work at very difficult times in their lives and who felt their lives had been enriched by their engagement with the company; including new parents facing isolation and loneliness, people living with Dementia and Parkinson’s disease and young people with additional learning needs. You can read many of these responses here: https://www.impelo.org.uk/impact-wemove
“The inclusiveness of Impelo is impressive; not only are classes provided at the Centre for a range of ages and abilities, in a number of different dance styles, but also I am aware of their outreach work. I have witnessed first hand their interventions with a Dementia Support group, who visibly bloomed as they joined in the activities offered.
”
Full Mongrel & Co Photography
Image has a purple wash over it and shows 2 participants in a dance studio in the middle of an exercise. You can only see from their torso up and close up and one participant is quite blurred. Both female and over 50 they have their arms raised in the air with a look of focus and concentration. This is from our over 55’s dance session, Do Your Thing!
Our Arts Council Wales funding enabled us to implement multi-year programmes that support professionals to live and work in the area and to put community at the heart of dance. It’s pretty much the funding that keeps us going; without it, it’s hard to see how we keep the glitterball turning and keep those bodies moving. We face a really uncertain future, but we are resilient, we know our worth. The rallying cry of support from those we have taught, worked with, who have seen us perform or supported our work in any way spurs us on as we enter a new chapter in Impelo’s story, one that we are determined will be much greater than any before.
Jemma, Suzy, Damien & the trustees of Impelo
An open letter from the dance community to Arts Council Wales is available to read here: https://shorturl.at/rDI48