Summer is upon us, and it has been another busy few weeks since we welcomed everyone to Rise.
Since then, our participatory activities have continued apace, with our tireless participation lead Ruth running sessions for all ages and abilities the length and breadth of Moray, including our springtime movement sessions for young people with Mhari Baxter and Sharon Took-Zozaya.
Last week we held our Midsummer Moves Daytime Disco for the Dance for Parkinson’s community, led by Ruth with assistance from Ruby Worth.
Our Sing, Exercise and Tea (SET) classes are winding down for the summer, but we are planning a celebration event bringing all the SET participants together in August. This project has been supported by supported by Moray Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund.
In the coming weeks Ruth will also be visiting residents at Wakefield Care Home in Cullen, contributing to a summer project for care experienced young people across Moray, and delivering more music and movement sessions for Alzheimer’s Scotland.
Through the Arts in Moray (AIM) programme, Dance North and M:ADE will be working with the Moray Justice team this summer, offering support and activities facilitated by local creative artist Lynda Buchan at their bosie and polytunnel locations in Elgin.
Last week we gathered arts colleagues for a First Aid training session led by the wonderful team at Outfit Moray, before joining creative practitioners from across Moray in Forres for networking drinks and nibbles at the Culture Café hosted by Findhorn Bay Arts.
Karl has been planning and building partnerships towards Rise 2026, with a focus on First Nations and Indigenous performance, and will be heading to Montréal next month to connect with the dance community in Quebec. In August we’ll also be hosting a visit from our Rise partners from Australia.
Something truly unique is in the offing for next year’s festival, and we can’t wait to share more details with you as plans develop. We’ll also be announcing dates very soon.