Welcome to Episode 13 of Justice Studio Sessions. In this episode we discuss young people in Wessex, South West England. We focus on the work of the Wessex Dance Academy which is a dance school for young people aged 15-25 based in Hampshire. The young people referred to the Academy are either excluded from, or not attending, school, care leavers or those with experience of the criminal justice system. Justice Studio was lucky enough to work with the academy twice – in 2013 when we undertook an outcomes study, and again in 2020 to do a refresher of the study as the covid 19 pandemic broke.

We are lucky to have Clare Hobbs with us for the discussion. Clare is the creator of the Wessex Dance Academy, establishing it 2009 because she wanted to bring dance to those who would not otherwise experience it. As manager of the Academy, she and her team, have been working closely with the young people ever since.

In this episode we discuss the lives of the young people who have been through the Academy, how the programme operates and the positive outcomes they are able to achieve in the young people’s confidence and self-esteem. We look at the challenges it faces in a funding landscape that does not always acknowledge the importance of the arts and touch on how the pandemic has affected a growing number of young people who are not in school.

Links

Follow Wessex Dance Academy on Instagram: @wessexdanceacademy

Justice Studio’s website: www.justicestudio.org

Follow Justice Studio on Instagram: @justicestudio

Follow Justice Studio on Twitter: @justicestudio

Follow Marianne on Instagram @creatrix.london

Title Music by Luke Fraser @the_tonic_

Show Artwork by Marianne @creatrix.studio