Avant Cymru staff visit to develop dance resources in Wales and reshape how dance is taught nationwide

Avant Cymru are a forward-thinking theatre company who create relevant, distinctive theatre, dance, and Hip Hop with community engagement as a core focus.  As a freelance creative led organisation, they support and train adult learners to develop their skills within these fields.  Many of their teachers and community practitioners are neurodiverse, and as a result they look to find ways in which they can use their own personal experiences to create better teaching environments for learners who are also neurodivergent.

Since 2020, Avant have been working with Hip Hop educators to develop teaching practices, resources and ideas to strengthen Hip Hop education in Wales.  They recently had a specialist focus on Hip Hop Anime work and applied for Taith funding to visit Japan where Anime was created, and Anime theatre is a developed and growing art form. Research has shown that many in the international Hip Hop community are neurodiverse, and the different art forms within Hip Hop can provide a unique access point into learning as these dance forms are often more neurodiverse friendly due to their flexible teaching methods.

Their visit to Japan in December 2024 has provide a new perspective on how to teach many aspects of dance and theatre, and they hope to create new learning opportunities for adult learners in Wales as well as create resources to enrich the Welsh curriculum.