Cathedral filled with music and dance as international company join with local schools

Members of the acclaimed Rambert dance company, have joined forces with students from several North Yorkshire schools to create a unique performance in Ripon Cathedral.  More than 150 young people took part in Your Time, Your Place a one hour long performance of music, art and dance, inspired by Rambert’s recent production, Eternal Light.

Five animateurs from the Rambert company worked with the students  from  January, leading creative dance and music workshops and a residential weekend in Pateley Bridge, to create the unique performance.  Schools involved included Northallerton College, Richmond School, Selby High School, Springwater School, and St. John Fisher RC High School

The Your Time, Your Place event is  the first event in a two year arts-in-education programme, called Aspire,  the first of its kind in North Yorkshire. It is designed to develop children and young people's creative abilities through various art forms based on the evidence showing that children's involvement in the arts creates better learners and better citizens.

North Yorkshire County Councillor John Watson, executive member for schools said: "This is a real coup for North Yorkshire's schools. Rambert is the nation's leading company in contemporary dance and the Aspire programme will give our young people the opportunity to access the arts through dance at the very highest level."

Rambert said they were attracted by the "ambitious" nature of the Aspire programme and welcomed the chance to work long-term with the County Council and with its schools. Joce Giles, Rambert's head of learning and participation, said: "It's exciting to be able to create a bespoke programme for schools across a region, rather than just doing one-off workshops. It will give the young people a real chance to reflect on the skills they are developing. We are a national company and although based in London we welcome the opportunity to create a partnership in North Yorkshire and would hope it can continue beyond the two years of the project."