“Quiet Beats is a brilliant opportunity for my son to be a part of something special. Through Quiet Beats, I saw his confidence grow everyday and at the end of each session a big smile on his face, talking about how he loves to dance! Deaf children can gain confidence through the medium of dance and movement and by working with Deaf professional dancers have role models too.”
Participant’s Mum
About Quiet Beats
Quite Beats is one half of Jones the Dance’s Young Company, specifically for young Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.
We run dance workshops, led by our Dance Officer Amber Howells and guest professional dancers and choreographers each half term and in the summer. The workshops are specially tailored to the needs of young Deaf people so they can get the most out of dancing and enjoy the experience that has many of the barriers that they might find in a hearing setting.
Each workshop includes BSL interpreters.
The summer school 2024 was held at Chapter Arts in Cardiff and was led by two guest choreographers Jules Young and Anna Seymour.
What’s happening from Autumn 2024
We are currently planning workshops for Autumn 2024 onwards. As soon as we have info we will make announcements here and in our Newsletter. If you’ve not signed up yet you can do so below.
Cost
These sessions are FREE. However there is significant cost in running each session. We kindly ask that you honour your bookings and let us know at your earliest convenience if you are unable to attend.
Travel Bursaries
We are offering travel bursaries for those where travel costs might be prohibitive. Please contact JtD’s producer Kama Roberts via email at info_and_admin@jonesthedance.com.
Who to contact for more info
Dance Officer - Amber - QuietBeats@jonesthedance.com
Producer - Kama - info_and_admin@jonesthedance.com
Artistic Director - Gwyn - gwyn@jonesthedance.com
How to sign up
Please book the free sessions via the link above so that we know who is coming to the sessions and are able to prepare.
Once you have made the booking we will send you a registration and equal opportunities form to complete for your child. You will be asked to provide a bit of info on any injuries or allergies or if there are any specific access needs we need to be taking into consideration. We want to make sure everyone is safe and taken care of. You will only have to complete these the first time that you book but do ask for you to make sure you let us know if any details change during the year.
Dance Officer - Amber Howells
Photo credit : Elly Welford
Amber is a socially and ecologically-engaged dance artist and aspiring writer from the heart of Cardiff. She graduated from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2020, before joining Rubicon Dance Company for a year. She has performed works by Anna Watkins, Marcus Jarrell-Willis, Jamiel Laurence, Wayne Parsons, Lea Anderson, Krystal S. Lowe, BBC Wales and Ewan Jones. She is passionate about the arts and education within Wales, which is reflected in her short films 'Womanby Street' and 'Our Future Wales', commissioned by FOR Cardiff and The Future Generations Commissioner. In May 2023, she joined the Jones the Dance team as a dancer in the film project, choreographed by Gwyn Emberton, and is thrilled to now represent the company as Dance Officer throughout Wales, alongside the wonderful Eli Williams.
The history of Quiet Beats
We began Quiet Beats during lockdown, with the help from Taking Flight Youth Theatre, the Deaf youth theatre company in Wales.
In the February 2021 half term, Deaf urban dancer and choreographer Chris Fonseca led the week of workshops taking seven young people through their steps in Urban and creative dance. Deaf dancers Billy Read and Ariel Fung led the workshops in 2022.
Jones the Dance’s Dance Officer Amber Howells will lead the workshops from Autumn 2023 with guest Deaf teachers and choreographers throughout the year.
Each workshop includes BSL interpretation. There will be workshops during half terms and the summer holidays.