Dance festival gets moving with community involvement

The opening weekend of the Woking Dance Festival has been hailed as a success by the event's organisers.

The two-week festival is due to include an array of homegrown and international talent and was kicked off with a drinks reception and a showcase of forthcoming performances.

Dignitaries from the town and members of the festival board attended the opening reception at The Lightbox on Friday.

On Saturday, the community dance project City Maquette premiered at the HG Wells Conference Centre.

The performance included 60 dancers from four community groups based in Woking and was put together by French choreographer Mathilde Monnier.

They included a martial arts group, pupils from Sythwood Primary School and members of the DeVyne Dancers group.

Monnier said: "We have all learned through this experience, but for us, we have observed that whether you are a community in France or England, you include the same personality types.

“Watching the group explore the relationship of movement to their own bodies and discovering how important the way you move is, is very touching."

Still to come during the festival is a piece by a French/Tunisian dancer, who will perform while making cous cous and then offer the audience the opportunity to taste his food, plus a show by pre-school children called A Marja! Fly Fly!