Members of an Accrington dance charity have been invited to Japan to share their approach and methodology to supporting people with learning disabilities to get involved

As part of a pioneering project to promote inclusion in Japanese society, DanceSyndrome was invited to show how it can transform lives by offering people with disabilities the chance to be leaders.

The Government's ‘Organisation of the Year’ has been invited to Tokyo to share learning from its approach to co-delivery.

Through the medium of inclusive dance, DanceSyndrome empowers those with and without learning disabilities to believe they can achieve ambitions in their lives and that their disability is not a barrier to achieving success.

At DanceSyndrome, people with learning disabilities co-lead inclusive dance sessions and take visible Dance Leader roles to inspire people to show what can be achieved when we all become more inclusive.

All sessions are co-produced with professional Dance Artists working side by side with trained and qualified Dance Leaders with learning disability to co-produce high-quality inclusive dance sessions for everyone to enjoy together.

Julie Nicholson, DanceSyndrome managing director, said “This project embodies everything that DanceSyndrome stands for.

“We want to change the way that people think about learning disabilities by sharing the ways that we put inclusion and co-production into practice every single day.

“Our mission is to go out into the world and demonstrate that people with learning disabilities are able to be dancers and leaders or anything else that they want to be, as long as they are given the right support and opportunities to do that.

“We are so proud to have been invited to travel to Japan to be held up as an example of what good co-production looks like on an international level.”

DanceSyndrome welcomed Ayuko Hara, a student from Japan who was studying at the University of Central Lancashire, to volunteer with the group in its weekly company class in September 2023.

She was inspired by her time with the charity and reported back to a colleague in Japan, Dai Matsuoka, who programmes the Tokyo Accessible Dance Festival on behalf of Land Fes.

Dai reached out to the DanceSyndrome team to ask about the potential for them to share DanceSyndrome’s approach to co-leadership in Tokyo.

Funding for this project was secured in Japan from Arts Council Tokyo and four members of the DanceSyndrome team will be travelling to Japan in November for a 10-day visit.

It hopes to enable them to share their co-production methodology, supporting Japanese Dance Artists and dancers with learning disabilities to become more inclusive in their delivery of dance activities, to encourage greater inclusion in the wider society in Japan which currently is not as advanced as in the UK.

Dai Matsuoka, from Land Fes, said: “I feel very honoured and thrilled that we have been able to invite DanceSyndrome members to Tokyo this November.

“As an organization that is committed to developing and promote inclusive dance in Japan, Land Fes will benefit so much from this international collaboration project.

“I believe that DanceSyndrome's unique program should be shared more and permeated to empower people with disabilities all over the world.”

The Dance Leaders are all visible members of their communities, who can regularly be seen leading workshops, dance performances and community activities.

In recent years, DanceSyndrome’s work has been recognised on a national level, with multiple partnerships with NHS England, Foundation of Nursing Studies and other national social care providers, as well as securing funding from National Lottery Community Foundation and Arts Council England.

DanceSyndrome Dance Leader John Burrow said: “I’m excited to be going to Japan to share the Dance By Example workshops that I co-deliver here in the UK.

“Through DanceSyndrome I’ve gained social life, I’ve gained friends and a new outlook on my life.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence in myself so when there’s moments of self-doubt I’m now able to kind of go “no, I can do this.”

“I’m looking forward to being able to share that with new people in Japan too!”