THE EVOLVE PROJECT

The Evolve project was established in September 2022 when Unity Stage School was awarded funding via the Use Your Energy fund in association with Sports England. The premise of the project was to open more technical training for those young people from disadvantaged areas that struggle to engage with clubs / activities due to the social and economic barriers that they face. Based out of Dukinfield Old Chapel Unitarian’s Community Hall, we began opening our doors to students to come along and audition for the chance to join the teams. The audition was judged by a panel of non-bias judges who had the final say for the two teams that eventually formed our evolve teams. Initially I we had two teams (junior and senior) but due to the success of the pilot we were then able to open an additional class for more young people.

Recently the previous ‘Evolve Project’ as we know it has been disbanded, and we have adapted to reach a wider audience and to increase the opportunities within the world of performance. We are beginning Evolve Evolution in January 2025 to introduce new streams of theatre into the Evolve teams' weekly sessions to widen their knowledge of stage and theatre. The streams are:

• Theatre
• Music
• Stage Production

The evolve classes are completely FREE OF CHARGE and run on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and a Saturday morning. The evolve groups are classed as an advance performance group and are used for public performances outside of our Unity calendar. We work on expanding their understanding of theatre and production whilst also developing soft skills like teamworking, communication and organisation. We have lots of aspirations for these groups including Performances, Qualifications and for the team to take complete ownership of the running and creation of a Showcase by December 2025. The mission of Evolve is to change the ‘elite’ model to be more inclusive and to adapt a ‘come as you are’ approach to the application process.

Thanks to the funding received and fundraising that took place in 2022, we have been able to run the project successfully however we are constantly working towards raising more funds to extend this further through this new model. In the past we have purchased a full dance kit for all young people with funding from KEYFAX. If we are successful in securing more funding, we can look at ways of improving our project and increasing the opportunities for our young people. We hope to be able to take the attendees to amateur and professional productions, attend industry workshops and eventually exhibitions and conventions where they can widen their knowledge and understanding of the arts. We hope that by opening these doors the young people gain an appreciation for the arts, and it drives a passion for them to continue their journey after their time in Evolve.

Our three head coaches have high profile training backgrounds and experience and a combined knowledge of most dance and performance styles. All classes are taught by a wide range of staff with a wide depth industry knowledge that they are willing to share with the Evolve Project.

• Miss Cat – Project Lead
• Miss Tama – Head Coach
• Miss Ellie – Head Coach
• Mr Colin – Coach
• Miss Emma – Coach
• Miss Paula - Coach

For more information on how you can help our project grow or to find more information on how to get involved please contact: contact@Unitystageschool.co.uk