On Thursday 10th July, at 6pm, Peninsula Square on Greenwich Peninsula will come alive when over fifty local school children take to the stage in a free, one-off performance as part of Big Dance 2008 (5-13 July), a week-long celebration of dance in all its styles and forms.

Dancing on the Peninsula is a collaboration between Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula and Greenwich Dance Agency (gDA), in partnership with Big Dance 2008 and Greenwich Council's Cultural Olympiad programme, celebrating the role of art and sport in our communities.

The performance will bring together resident gDA choreographer Temujin Gill, six professional dance artists, and over 50 children from the Millennium and Halstow Primary Schools, who attended gDA's after school dance club.

Over the last six weeks the gDA dancers have been working with the children to create a site specific dance celebration inspired by the Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula's themes of sustainability, regeneration and the natural and built environments. Drawing on the values of Big Dance 2008 and the Cultural Olympiad the performance also references the idea of competition versus cooperation and its existence within the areas of sport and environmental sustainability. During the performance the dancers convey these themes with contrasting dynamics and relay races as a means of entering and exiting the performance area.

Vivienne Reiss, Co-Director of Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula said: "Through the art programme we want to engage the diverse communities on the peninsula, and surrounding areas, in the regeneration process. We are working with local artists and arts organisations such as gDA to do this, the ambition is to animate the public realm and create a sense of place."

Choreographer Temujin Gill said: "The aim of this project is to encourage young people to engage with, as well as, celebrate the vitality of nature and ask questions about our relationship to the earth's resources as well as our use of them. Set against the backdrop of the 'Living Wall' at Peninsula Square, which features water, fauna and man made constructions, this dance piece explores these themes through the language of healthy competition and cooperation, key factors evident in sports activities and the balance of the natural world."

Caron Loudy Artist Programme Manager at the gDA said: "This project has given our children's groups an amazing opportunity to make a different kind of performance in a new and exciting environment. Hopefully people visiting The O2 on 10th July will stumble across our performance and be inspired by what they see and possibly sign up for a dance class!"

In addition to the live dance performance, filmmaker Ros Cheshire is working with the dance artists and choreographer to document the Dancing on the Peninsula project. The participating children have been filmed dancing at various locations around the Peninsula including Millennium Primary School, the old coal jetty, and the Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park. This will be combined with footage of the live dance to produce a separate art work, a creative response to dance and movement through the environment. It will be shown in August as part of the Greenwich Cultural Olympiad programme.

Dancing on the Peninsula will inform further projects initiated to coincide with the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships to be held at The O2 in 2009 and the Olympics and Paralympics 2012.

Cllr John Fahy, Cabinet Member for Culture and the Olympics, said: "This is one of the first events to take place as part of our Cultural Olympiad programme. In Greenwich we are determined that local people of all ages will have a chance to play an active part in this once-in-a-lifetime celebration. Greenwich Council is working with arts groups, schools and community organisations to plan a diverse and exciting programme, which will celebrate all that is great about the borough."

Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula is a public art initiative led by English Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, and a client group of key stakeholders, including Greenwich Peninsula Regeneration Ltd (a joint venture between Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development plc), Greenwich Millennium Village Ltd (a joint venture development by Countryside Properties plc and Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd in association with English Partnerships), Arts Council England and Greenwich Council.

For more information about Art in the Public Realm Greenwich Peninsula programme visit the website: www.artongreenwichpeninsula.com
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Press contact:
Anna Davidson on 020 7392 1940/07894 462 403 or email anna@ing-media.com