LAST month, local dance company Stopgap held its annual community dance performance featuring its disabled dance students at Farnham Maltings. Stopgap is a resident company at The Maltings and an industry leading expert in teaching dance to disabled young people.

In the Community Platform, entitled ‘The Winter’s Tale’, Stopgap featured new works by its 50 youth dancers and a duet by professional dancers, Nadenh Poan and Siobhan Hayes.

The platform celebrated the achievements of these young dancers, and it was a chance to witness their passion and energy for performing. Stopgap is a groundbreaking organisation that is giving disabled children an opportunity to experience high-quality dance classes and perform in front of an enthusiastic audience.

The platform this year commemorated this year’s 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, with the performances taking influence from stories and characters found in his pieces. Stopgap has four youth companies in Farnham and Guildford, and each group re-imagined the tales of The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale, taking the audience on a journey through seas and a snowy forest. The professional dancers Siobhan and Nadehn performed their newest duet, through which they told us stories from Nadenh’s homeland of Cambodia.

Many dignitaries from Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council were in attendance, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Waverley, Mike and Val Band; demonsrating the support Stopgap has from the community for the work it does with young disabled people. This event was sponsored by Farnham based charity organisation, The Hedgehog.

Stopgap welcomes young people of all abilities to their youth companies and invites anyone who wishes to learn, improve and enjoy dancing to come along to these groups.

Farnham Youth Company meets every Monday at 5pm in The Farnham Maltings. Guildford Youth Company meets weekly every Wednesday at 5:30pm at the University of Surrey. Stopgap also runs a ‘gifted and talented’ company in Farnham and an associate group with Stepping Stones charity.To find out more about any of the youth companies contact Stopgap on [email protected] or call its office on 01252 745 443.