Hello & happy new year!

We have something very exciting to tell you.

The application to National Lottery Project Grant through Arts Council England was successful! This is big news. I applied as an individual to develop an idea I've had in mind, for quite some time. The link between body & mind, the connection between right side & left side of the brain, how movement is medicine & exploring dance & dyslexia became Dance Maven.

There was a huge breakthrough when I went to Dance Services for help. They put me in touch with Rachel Jean Birch (legend) from Moving Art Management & since the end of 2023 she has given me unwavering support as my Dance Producer. The work we had to do for the ACE application was a mountain of admin.

Luckily, I was motivated by the idea of bringing professional dancers to 3 local schools in the North London area & using the fantastic libraries surrounding us to bring this project to life. Also massive thanks to Ann Wixley for introducing me to Asana. Life-changing.

More on our partners; without the support of Edmonton Community Partnership, the yes’s from composer Tom Haines, Videographer - Bettina Adela, Mentoring from Elizabeth Arfien, Coaching from Isabel Mortimer, a letter of support from Dancer’s Career Development, a brilliant Rehearsal Photographer - Louisa Sexton-Worley, collaborating with Dr Siobhan Mitchell (adolescent dancer) I’m unsure that Dance Maven would have come out of my head & into the world at all.

This has genuinely come from months & months of work. Not overnight. Definitely not the quickest route. There were sometimes I didn’t know where I would fit or whether or not what I was attempting to do would workout. And the beauty of sharing this news is that if I can do it - so can you! Anything is possible.

2024 it’s all leading to something, the next chapter of this journey may even be the toughest yet. I will be choreographing & upskilling in my project management, making & creating in my happy place; which has always been in the dance studio.

A huge thank you must go to my Mum for proof - reading pretty much everything I put into my application & then me editing it for the word count & again having her read it so it made sense. Cheers Mum!

Shout out to my partner, James for being there when I made phone calls to schools, libraries & future partners (urgh how scary a real person), & for continuously providing the teas & pep talks. Without your encouragement I might have stopped all of this back in July, I’m so glad I didn't. Thank you for showing me endless kindness, sharing your brilliant thoughts, all of your time & effort is SO appreciated.

Building something you love & are passionate about needs others, whether it’s friends who can listen to your half-formed ideas, mentors you can bounce things around with or finding talented people to join you on the quest.

Now I’m ready to start the search for other like-minded movement artists & will keep my foot on the gas! Thinking of you, Lorna da Costa.

So what’s next for this performance artist turned Founder of an emerging dance company?

Well, for a second, I’d really just like to celebrate this win.

Because it means the world. We are overjoyed to announce that our recent project Dance Maven, has been awarded National Lottery Project Grant funding through Arts Council England. This would not have been possible without our collaboration with Moving Art Management & Edmonton Community Partnership, who have provided unwavering support. As we dance towards a promising 2024, I would like to thank our Partners for their immense contribution towards this achievement.

Success is believing in yourself & then empowering others to do the same. I have not managed this alone, but seriously if you’re reading this then keep going - you are gonna get there.

Wishing you the best of things for 2024.

See you on the dancefloor, Jess