Colours of Dance Radiates
A creative dance programme offered to children in Cambridge who have experienced bigger challenges in their lives. Colours of Dance Radiates is a Registered Charity in England & Wales. Registered Charity No: 1187021 Watch our film
What is Radiates?
Dance connects mind to body, feelings to experience and people to communities in powerful ways. We are committed to giving all children, no matter their personal challenges, the opportunity to benefit from creative dance supported by dance and education professionals. Colours of Dance Radiates is a creative dance programme offered to children who have experienced bigger challenges in their lives. This might include, but is not limited to children with neuro-diversities, disease, disabilities or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) such as family adjustments. We run three classes at Castle School, led both by our highly experienced team of teachers and by our inspiring students who bring ideas, invention and courage to class every week. We are looking to expand our work into other local primary schools in the Cambridge area. Our historyRadiates values
Access and inclusivity
We provide classes during the school day so children are not disadvantaged by financial, travel or logistical barriers. Our classes are all inclusive, welcoming all abilities and needsChild centred
All forms of participation are welcomed. We work with however a child is feeling on that day, with no prescribed outcomes. Children’s interests and feedback form the cornerstone of our work.Curriculum enhancement
Our lesson plans are designed to complement and contribute to children’s wider learning outcomes, including communication, decision making, self-regulation, creativity and numeracy.Experienced teachers
Our teachers are highly trained dance and education professionals. Our curriculum is informed by Laban’s theory of movement, and our training with the Royal Academy of Dance and Blue Smile Read moreFeedback from class teachers and students
Radiates teachers are “fantastic and know exactly the right pitch for the students”, producing “really imaginative content with excellent use of resources”– Castle school class teacher
“It has really enhanced our curriculum offer and supported our journey towards Artsmark. There are real cross curricular links and opportunity to develop motivation, confidence and self-esteem”.
-CAstle school senior leadership
“It makes me feel happy” “I love the music and dance”-Castle school Students
Support our work
Donate here Radiates is funded entirely by donations and all our work relies on your support. As well as sustaining our current work at Castle, we are looking to fund an expansion of our work to evenings and weekends. Other ways to support us If you would like to get involved in any capacity (trainer, teacher, fundraiser, admin, publicity etc), or would like to know more about Radiates, then please contact Lucy at radiates@coloursofdance.com, or speak to Miss Imogen if you are already a member of our school.Meet our team
Imogen Knight CEO and Founder
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Alison Cox, Radiates Teacher and Founder
Alison is an experienced teacher of dance. Alison began her career as a graduate scientist. A love of working with children took Alison to the classroom as a primary school teacher. But since her first taste of ballet at age of 3 she has been addicted to dance ever since. This took Alison in 2002, to become an Associate of the National Association of Teachers of Dance (NATD), and is now an experienced teacher of dance and classical ballet. Through her dance teaching Alison has taught all ages of school children, both mainstream and specialist. Being involved in dance groups such as Eden Dance, Cool Katz and Super Troupers, and creating ‘Exonics’ project combining phonics with dance. Alison has kept her ties to education through her tenth year as governor at Mayfield primary school. Alison believes the value of dance is life long and doesn’t limit her teaching to children, she also provides a ‘Ballet Workout’ for adults who have not had the pleasure of experiencing a dance lesson. Alison continues to attend weekly ballet classes for her own benefit
Chrissie Moore, Radiates Teacher
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Rachel Dawson, Radiates Teacher
Rachel was born in New Zealand and trained at the New Zealand School of Dance gaining a 3-year dance performance diploma. She is a registered ARAD teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance for over 25 years. Rachel currently works in Cambridge, as a RAD ballet teacher for Colours of Dance, a member of the Radiates team and also a Premier Sports dance educator within the Suffolk region delivering creative dance classes in Primary schools as part of there PE curriculum. Since 2010 Rachel has been employed by the Royal Ballet School as a technical/creative teacher on there out reach programme ‘Primary Steps’, and leads their creative work shops in Primary schools across the East Anglia. Rachel is inspired by how creative and inclusive the Radiates programme is and feels very strongly that every child should experience music and dance in some way, despite challenges they may face. Rachel loves bringing creativity; energy and a bit of kiwi humour into the sessions and thoroughly enjoys being part of wonderful team.
Brittanie Dillon, Radiates Teacher
Brittanie is an ex professional dancer, ballet & contemporary teacher, RADiates teacher. Brittanie gained a scholarship at the Central School of Ballet in London at the age of 16 to pursue her professional training – here she gained a First Class BA Honours Degree. Brittanie joined the internationally renowned dance company Matthew Bournes New Adventures company as featured featured roles in the UK tours of ‘The Red Shoes’ and ‘Cinderella’. She always been incredibly passionate about sharing the value and benefit of using dance as a powerful tool for communication, catharsis, creativity and expression. She believes that we should all have access to this, no matter our ability or background. This drove her to study for a MA in Dance Movement Psychotherapy. Her knowledge and work in the mental health and psychology field is something she integrates into her practice as a dance teacher, and she is hugely passionate about supporting young people in their journey through life and helping them reach their full potential.
