Young People Take the Lead: Our Jack Petchey Foundation Dance Film Project
- Jenny Bater-Sinclair - Company Director
- 39 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Last week, something very special happened at Hip Hop Pop...
For two full days, a group of our young people took over the creative reins to devise, choreograph, direct and film their very own student-led dance film.
From the first idea to the final camera angle, this was their project – and we couldn't be prouder of what they created. And it was all made possible thanks to the wonderful support of the Jack Petchey Foundation.
Celebrating 20 Years – With an Opportunity to Create
Back in March, we were delighted to hear from the Jack Petchey Foundation as they congratulated Hip Hop Pop on 20 years of service supporting young people.
To help us mark that milestone, the Foundation awarded us funding to do something genuinely special with our young people – giving us the opportunity to purchase equipment and access services and experiences that would directly benefit them.
We knew we wanted to use that opportunity to create something that wouldn't simply be for our students, but would be created by them.
And so, our student-led dance film was born.
The Jack Petchey Foundation has a long history of celebrating, inspiring and supporting young people, recognising their achievements and creating opportunities for them to develop their confidence, skills and potential. That ethos felt like the perfect fit for this project: giving our young people the resources, space and trust to take their own ideas and turn them into something real.
Their Concept. Their Choreography. Their Film.
What made this project particularly special was that the students were at the heart of every creative decision.
They developed the concept for the dance film. They devised the individual scenes and transitions. They chose camera angles and locations. They created the choreography, worked with the music and considered how each element would come together in the final production.
Different students took responsibility for different areas of the project, giving them the opportunity not only to be dancers and performers, but also to experience roles in choreography, directing, videography and production.
Thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation funding, we were able to hire the main stage at Harlow Playhouse for two days, giving the students a professional theatre environment in which to develop and capture their ideas.
The funding enabled us to purchase camera equipment suitable for filming a project of this kind. Importantly, that equipment remains with Hip Hop Pop, meaning this award hasn't just made one project possible – it has opened the door for us to create even more opportunities with our young people in the future.
Two Days of Creativity
Day One was all about creating.
The students devised their scenes, developed choreography, explored transitions and worked together to build a plan for every shot they wanted to capture.
Day Two was about bringing that vision to life.
After fine-tuning their ideas and choreography, the cameras started rolling and the students put everything they had planned into action.
Throughout both days, the project was supervised by Hip Hop Pop's Director Jenny Bater-Sinclair, who was incredibly proud of what she witnessed:
“It was such a joy to watch the young people work together so well. With a mixture of ages and different lengths of time in dance, they all brought so much to the table and really listened to one another. They worked as a team. There may have been assigned leaders for the different departments, but what made them wonderful leaders was their willingness to listen to their teams and value everybody's ideas. It was a pleasure to watch not only the way they worked together, but their work ethic and drive. Not once did we have to encourage them to keep going – they were on the ball throughout the entire two days and simply couldn't get enough of it.”
More Than a Dance Film
Of course, at the end of the two days we had a dance film. But the young people came away with so much more than that. They had experienced what it was like to take an idea from concept through to production. They had collaborated, negotiated ideas, made decisions, solved problems and taken responsibility for different areas of a creative project.
They had been trusted to lead.
They also now have access to footage that they can use as part of future dance and performance showreels, giving the project another lasting benefit for those who may wish to pursue further opportunities within dance and the creative industries.
The finished film can be watched in full on our YouTube channel, with clips and behind-the-scenes moments also being shared across our social media pages.
Hear From Our Young People
We asked the students themselves why they felt a project like this was important, what they had enjoyed about the experience and what they wanted to say to the Jack Petchey Foundation for making it possible.
You can hear what they had to say in their own words here:
Giving young people a voice is one of the most important things we can do. Sometimes that means listening to what they have to say. Sometimes it means giving them the space and resources to explore an idea. And sometimes it means trusting them enough to step back and allow them to lead. This project did all three.
Our young people were given the opportunity to let their creativity shine, and they certainly did.
From everyone at Hip Hop Pop – and especially from the young people who made this project their own – a huge thank you to the Jack Petchey Foundation.
You didn't just help us celebrate 20 years of supporting young people.
You helped us give the next generation the opportunity to create something of their own.
HHP x
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