YDance

Horizons Glasgow are heading to Gathered Together!

Join us at Tramway on Friday 4 September at 7.30pm as Horizons Glasgow take to the stage with a piece inspired by the electric atmosphere of the dance floor 🪩

Horizons Glasgow is YDance’s inclusive youth dance company for dancers aged 12–25, with and without disabilities.

📍 Tramway, Glasgow
📅 Friday 4 September
⏰ 7.30pm

Thank you to indepen-dance for having us 🫶🏻

Tickets: https://www.tramway.org/event/173745e7-daed-4a1f-a00d-b49701130e1c/

🥳 This year’s Summer of Sport programme recorded over 5000 attendances, as children, young people and families embraced an active summer.

The packed programme of free sporting activities across Shetland and was delivered in partnership with local clubs, coaches, and volunteers, giving participants a chance to get active, learn new skills and try sports they may never have experienced.

Around 750 children and young people booked onto activities during the summer holidays, and the popular Picnic & Play sessions, which did not require to be booked, also attracted an estimated 2,400 attendances.

The programme featured a variety of activities, including fifteen sports, from basketball to fencing to table tennis, as well as dance and skateboarding. Families also enjoyed accessible opportunities such as Picnic & Play, Pedal Power cycling sessions and family badminton, table tennis and rugby events.

Activities took place in communities across Shetland, in the North, South and West Mainland, as well as on Yell, Unst and Whalsay.

This year’s programme also included a visit from YDance who delivered a week of dance camps, attracting almost 80 children and giving them a chance to explore difference dance styles in a fun, inclusive environment. YDance also provided a week-long Leadership programme, attended by six young people who gained experience and learned skills to support future local dance activities.

Ability Shetland’s summer programme offered inclusive sporting opportunities, including kayaking, boccia, curling, wheelchair basketball and goalball. The initiative helped build local capacity for more people of all abilities to be active and engaged in sport.

The programme was part of the national ‘Summer of Sport’ 2026 initiative, funded by the Scottish Government and facilitated through sportscotland, with local delivery coordinated by the Council's Sport and Leisure Service. As well as volunteer coaches from local clubs, the delivery of the programme in the summer holidays was assisted by three seasonal staff employed by the Sport & Leisure Service.

A survey being led by Research Scotland has been shared with parents/carers of children who took part in Summer of Sport activities.

For anyone who attended non-bookable activities such as Picnic & Play, they can share any feedback through a Survey link on the Council’s Sport & Leisure webpage

Louise Jamieson, Active Schools Manager at the Council’s Sport & Leisure service, said:

"This summer's programme has been a fantastic success. The demand for activities was incredible, and it was wonderful to see so many children, young people and families getting involved. We are grateful to the clubs, coaches, volunteers, and partner organisations who helped deliver such a diverse programme. Their enthusiasm and commitment made it possible for participants to try everything from fencing and archery to hockey, rowing and skateboarding."

"Summer of Sport is all about creating positive experiences, building confidence and helping people discover activities they can continue to enjoy long after the holidays have ended. We would like to thank everyone who took part and helped make Summer of Sport 2026 such a memorable success."



📸 Unst bairns enjoyed free football sessions organised through Summer of Sport funding and run by Unst FC. Credit: SIC

Applications close soon!!👀

Applications to join the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland close on Sunday 13 September!

Whether you’re looking to develop your skills, gain performance experience, meet other young dancers, or take your first steps towards a career in dance, there’s no experience quite like being part of NYDCS✨

Open to all young people aged 16–21 living in Scotland.

📅 Application deadline: Sunday 13 September
📍 Audition: Saturday 19 September, Glasgow

Find out more and apply: https://ydance.org/nydcs

📸

Stornoway Diaries ⭐️

This August, young dancers aged 12–18 joined our Dance Artist Beth at An Lanntair for four days of Jazz, Street, Contemporary and creative dance!

The week finished with a sharing, giving the dancers the chance to perform what they had created and worked on together.

It was also the first step towards the new An Lanntair Youth Dance Company, delivered in partnership with YDance, creating opportunities for young people to develop their skills, build confidence and gain valuable performance experience.

There’s lots more to come, with YDance sessions during the October school holidays and February long weekend, alongside regular sessions led by locally based dance artists.

We can’t wait to see where this new Youth Dance Company goes!

🦄 Just 2 weeks to go until Scottish Learning Disability Week 2026!

What does it really mean to be seen?

Lindsay told us: “Being seen is people making the effort to know you.”

There's a difference between knowing about someone and taking the time to really know them.

For Lindsay, Being Seen means people making that effort.

Listening. Having conversations. Finding out what matters to someone. Seeing the whole person, rather than making assumptions about their learning disability.

From 7–13 September, Scottish Learning Disability Week will celebrate the lives and contributions of people with learning disabilities and get Scotland talking about what it means to be truly seen.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be sharing more voices, stories and ways to get involved.
Get involved 👉 https://zurl.co/mAgeH



Enable Down's Syndrome Scotland Project Ability Pamis

Edinburgh Fringe BTS 🫶🏼⭐️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🪩

Thinking about pursuing a career in dance?

Whether you’re looking to develop your skills, gain performance experience, or take your first steps towards a career in dance, there’s no experience quite like joining the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland.

Open to all young people aged 16–21 living in Scotland.

Application deadline: 13th September
Auditions: 19th September

Find out more and apply: https://ydance.org/nydcs 🤩