YDance: Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival 2014 reveals its lineup

As part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural programme, YDance are organising the first Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival, which will take place at Tramway from 10-12 July. Last week, Carolyn Lappin, artistic director of YDance, announced the eighteen groups out of twenty three selected to represent the UK for the event in July. The full list of groups can be seen below.

The launch itself featured four of these groups: Blast, Ihayami Fusion, Shhh Dance and the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland. With the likes of Scottish Dance Theatre, Diversity and Dance Ihayami involved, it's difficult to say these talented young people don't have ambition, even in the context of current youth unemployment. The feedback from one of the dancers of the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland undoubtedly testifies that YDance is doing what it has pledged to do since the beginning: "With YDance giving us this opportunity to be in this company [NYDCS], it's really good, because this is what we want to do when we graduate, as professional dancers. This is such a great experience to have just now, to know what it's like." 

Commissioned by Get Scotland Dancing, the CYDF provides a platform for young dancers from across the Commonwealth. Who better to host this event than YDance, Scotland's national youth dance organisation? YDance promote dance across Scotland for young people from the ages of 3 to 21, with programmes like Project Y, which gives young people the opportunity to experience life in the dancer's studio for a few weeks. 

YDance Routes is one such programme that dates back to 2011, offering workshops, performances, training, and networking events for Scotland's dancers. In the build up to the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival, this strand became a platform for the Scottish groups to showcase their talent at YDance Routes Destinations, a weekend of performances featuring 23 groups at the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling last month. 

The CYDF in its final form in July will feature performances from thirty six dance groups from across the Commonwealth, which itself consists of fifty three countries; this includes groups from Australia, Canada, India, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The dance styles span as much as the distance between the countries themselves, ranging from contemporary to urban / hip-hop to aboriginal and Indian classical. While the international groups registered two years ago, in April 2012, the Scottish groups competed for a place last month, and Northern Irish groups will be selected at an event this April. The festival also includes a dance film night, which will show short dance films made by or featuring young people, as well as Jumping into the Unknown, a young choreographers' showcase made during a residency run in collaboration with Hothouse and Scottish Ballet.

YDANCE 2014 - THE PERFORMERS
Blast (Glasgow)
Danscentre (Aberdeen)
Dalriada (Lochgilphead)
Fusion Youth Dance Company (Aberdeen)
Glasgow Youth Dance Company (Glasgow)
Shhh Dance (Glasgow)
Ihayami Fusion (Edinburgh)
right2dance youth company (Paisley)
Skyedance Youth Company (Portree)
Cando2 (London)
Cascade Youth Collective (Tunbridge Wells)
Fylde Coast Youth Dance Company (Blackpool)
Khronos (Croydon)
Nuworx (Cardiff)
The Pointe Youth Dance Company (Manchester)
Quicksilver (London)
Retina Youth Dance Company (Nottingham)
RDC Youth (Birmingham).