Why Terpsichore Yorkshire?

A few minutes ago I launched Terpsichore Yorkshire with an article about Planet Dance, a dancewear retailer and wholesaler in Baltley. By so doing I am looking after my core audience, the adult dance community in Yorkshire and the Humber.

I started this blog in a very small just over three years ago to write about my classes at Northern Ballet Academy, the University of Huddersfield, Dance Studio Leeds and other studios and to review performances by Northern Ballet, Phoenix Dance Theatre and visiting companies to The Grand, Bradford Alhambra, Stanley and Audrey Burton and other theatres in Yorkshire.

This blog has been spectacularly successful with over 10,000 hits a month. It has massive audiences in the United States and Russia and significant followings in Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands as well as the United Kingdom. My overseas readers and indeed those from other parts of the UK cannot attend classes in Leeds or Huddersfield or indeed performances in our local theatres. They want to read about what is going on at Covent Garden, the Coliseum and Sadler's Wells which they do visit occasionally as well as theatres and opera houses abroad and in other parts of the country. Consequently, my focus has moved away from Yorkshire and the North to London and overseas.

That is a pity for Leeds remains an important dance hub.  One of the reasons for increasing funding to Northern Ballet is that Arts Council England believe that

"Leeds has the potential to become a major regional dance centre. We suggested that Northern Ballet should work with Phoenix, Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Dance and others to explore how they might work collaboratively to build a broad dance culture in Leeds, capable of increasing audiences and attracting and retaining talent in the city"

(see How Arts Council England supports Dance 10 Oct 2015). I want to chronicle and if possible even to facilitate that development.

Terpsichore Yorkshire will focus on our great local companies, their talented artists, its great teachers and so on. We will give in depth previews and comprehensive analyses of their performances. We will write about dancers from Yorkshire with other companies such as David Biintley, Xander Parishm Brandon Lawrence and Dominic North. At the sane time, we will also try out adult dance classes in all parts of the county and report on them. We will check out local dancewear retailers and their merchandise.  We will report news and views on all aspects of dance from all parts of Yorkshire,