Next Level

Next Level comes to Swindon Dance on Saturday 12 December, a showcase that puts the centre's youth talent front and centre. It's a celebration of the young dancers coming through the ranks, and the bill brings together a few different stages of the journey in one afternoon.

To get the full picture, it helps to know what's running behind the scenes. Swindon Dance is a long-established charity that works with dancers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities across the town and beyond, and this particular day is a window into the youth side of things. The centre runs the Centre for Advanced Training, which prepares young dancers for the Swindon Contemporary and Swindon Ballet programmes, and it's also home to the Swindon Youth Dance Company, SYDCO. Both are part of the same pathway, so the performers you'll see on stage are coming from those streams.

What makes the afternoon work is the mix on stage. You'll see dancers at every stage of their progression sharing the boards with the achievements of Swindon Dance alumni — people who started here and have gone on to professional work. Seeing the beginners alongside the more experienced dancers gives you a proper sense of the growth that happens within the building.

The main show runs from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, so it's a single hour of dance. There's also a more exclusive VIP session held in the evening, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM, which is by invitation only. If you're heading along, the main performance is the one to keep in mind: Saturday 12 December, 3:00-4:00 PM at Swindon Dance.