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Can You Dance Liverpool: Supporting Young Dancers For A Decade
Now celebrating its’ 10th year, CYD? was born after founders Tom Shilcock and Matt Flint met on UK reality show So You Think You Can Dance. Since then Can You Dance? has grown into a caring family that prides themselves on opportunities for and celebrating the skills of young dancers. Ignited from one event this has skyrocketed into 8 regional conventions, 4 teacher conventions, the Masterclass Games, the flagship event and of course the super convention. Phew! That’s a lot of talented dancers, passionate teachers and time spent rehearsing. CYD? have even awarded full scholarships worth over £500,000 to the top performing arts colleges across the UK.
Dance Competitions in 2022: Going Behind The Curtain
So how do you truly get inside can you dance? You have to be right at the heart of the action, so this took our team on a road trip! On the day of this year’s CYD? Super Convention, a turnout of over 12,000 dancers left Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre buzzing with excitement. This combined with over 100 international exhibitors and the chance for dancers to join 200 masterclasses showcasing different styles of dance, led to an unmissable weekend in the dance calendar.
Our team got the chance to attend one of the biggest dance competitions in 2022 to connect with dance teachers as well as professionals in the dance world. This is crucial to us since these relationships can lead to a strengthened industry that keeps dancers at the heart of dance schools. Meeting dance teachers from up and down the UK, whilst seeing the kids in action reminds us how much potential each and every child has. CYD? Super Convention was a hive of activity, and the chance to see how important it is to bring a community of thousands together thanks to their common love of dance.
Some of our highlights:
- Recording a podcast with CYD? Co-founder Tom Shilcock! (Keep your ears peeled for this one!)
- Becoming best mates with award-winning choreographer and dance teacher Dane Bates (including taking far too many selfies!)
- Meeting Latin dance champion and Strictly Judge Oti Mabuse!
- Giving away our content creator kits to 20 lucky winners!
Getting inside can you dance Liverpool allow us to connect directly with those at the centre of dance - the everyday people like teachers making their local communities sparkle with dance opportunities, the role models for budding young dancers who have made it big, and most importantly, the kids that fall in love with the art of dance and make lifelong friends, no matter where they come from or who they are.
A statement from CYD? founders Tom and Matt sum up just how powerful facilitating opportunities in the dance industry is:
"CYD? is at the forefront of the dance events industry and can be credited for introducing the dance convention scene to the UK. It was developed to create a platform where dancers can be educated and inspired in a supportive and professional environment. CYD? have always, and will always, put dancers at the forefront. Every one of the events has been designed around the dancers' experience." - Tom and Matt, Founders of CYD
Want to see our behind the scenes footage from the one of the UK’s biggest dance competitions in 2022? Look no further!
If you'd like to start saving time managing your dance school and have more time to put on unforgettable dance shows, read our blog and discover the 10 ways a dance studio management system can help.
