Project Female as a Youth Work Setting

Project Female CIC offers our young people all of the benefits and objectives of a youth work approach within a dance setting. 

We have adapted the way that dance is facilitated to remove features that contribute to young people feeling uncomfortable and unable to participate due to their levels of self-confidence or self-esteem.  We have addressed the hierarchy and power-dynamics within the space and developed a code of conduct which nurtures mutual respect and community values.  We advocate for each dancer to implement a self-directed approach to their dance development which is implemented within a relaxed atmosphere where they feel empowered to present their authentic selves.

WHAT IS A YOUTH WORK APPROACH?

NON-INTRUSIVE WAYS TO ENRICH YOUNG PEOPLE

ENABLE - to help young people to perform desired leisure and recreational activities

EMPOWER - to allow young people to request changes in their community and society

EMANCIPATE - to let young people become individuals and self-sufficient

ENGAGE - to let young people interact with elements of authority and power

ENJOY - to freely interact with all local leisure facilities or opportunities

EDUCATE - To provide chances to learn skills outside of a schooling system

- Youth Work Training; Training Express 2023

IMPLEMENTS A YOUTH LED APPROACH

  • Project Female offers a variety of engagement pathways to reflect the different identities and interests that exist within our community of young people

  • Our pathways differ according to genre of dance as well as expected levels of commitment so young people can select the pathway that is most suited to them as individuals

  • All of our dance teaching is underpinned with a youth-work approach to engaging young people which focuses on mutual respect and self-directed participation

  • The Project Female team take pride in being culturally competent as this is key to creating an inclusive and accessible environment which allows young people to feel seen and understood within their own cultural frame of reference

  • Dance Leadership pathways are available to our young people as they progress through Project Female to enable development of transferable life skills

ADHEREs TO A CODE OF CONDUCT WHICH PRIORITISES MUTUAL RESPECT

  • Project Female Dancers agree to adhere to a code of conduct which prioritises the wellbeing of every person within the space

  • Each member of Project Female is treated as a valued member of our organisation and integral to the development of each creative journey

  • We nurture commitment, reliability and teamwork to provide a safe base from which all young people can feel empowered to develop and grow

  • We will absolutely not tolerate any behaviour which causes distress or discomfort to any other member of the Project Female Family

CREATES A COMMUNITY

  • Project Female CIC creates a community of like minded people who feel passionate about advocating for the rights of young people

  • We develop a sense of belonging and identity for our young people

  • Through our Youth Work Approach we amplify the call for social action in response to issues that impact the day to day lives of our young people

  • Through our partnerships we offer leadership opportunities for our young people to create social action events which amplify their call for social change

  • Through our performances at numerous events both locally and nationally we reach a variety of audiences from different backgrounds

is COMMITted TO AUTHENTIC REPRESENTATION

  • The themes and content of Project Female Dance Theatre productions are generated by our young people

  • We authentically represent issues which are impacting their day to day lives

  • Over the past 5 years Project Female CIC has developed a robust research process in partnership with UKYouth which develops the content of the show using safe and age-appropriate process which safeguards the participants

AMPLIFIES THE VOICES OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

  • Project Female offers an open policy for our young people to make suggestions about how to improve our organisation and to help us understand the barriers to young people participating in dance and creativity

  • We carry out regular anonymous evaluation processes to collect honest and open feedback from our young people

  • We invite young people to contribute to our advisory board to inform the delivery model and the way that Project Female works with young people

  • The opinions of our young people influence our choices for content, costumes, choreography and co-creative processes

  • Project Female Podcasts place the voices of our community at the heart of key discussion on a range of relevant topics

EMPOWERS THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO MAKE SOCIAL CHANGE AND SHAPE THEIR OWN FUTURE

  • All of the Project Female Productions amplify the voices of our young people to a wide range of audiences

  • Using both live and screendance projects our young people are able to share their authentic experiences and highlight their call for social change

  • Through our Project Inspire activity our young people devise social action events from scratch and lead on all aspects of organising the event - they learn working as a team, about generating budgets, venue hire, marketing and evaluation

  • We encourage young people to participate in a range of activities to develop their self-confidence and interpersonal skills and show them that they can achieve amazing things and shape their future