Minister Stephanie Peacock MP shines a light on young people at Eloquent Dance in Birmingham

Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth, joined young people at Eloquent Dance for a festive rehearsal, as young people prepare for a Christmas dance performance. Minister Peacock was welcomed by Romanah Buchanan, CEO and Artistic Director for Eloquent Dance, Janice Davis, Director for Eloquent Dance and Nick Temple, CEO for Social Investment Business.

During the visit, Minister Peacock had the opportunity to see the impact of their Youth Investment Fund grant on young people and all at Eloquent Dance. Minister Peacock’s visit was also an opportunity to share the UK Government’s new National Youth Strategy plans.

Eloquent Dance, based in Aston, Birmingham, uses dance and the performing arts to inspire, empower, and create opportunities for young people and communities. Their vision is to transform lives through creativity, education, and culture, while building pathways into the creative industries with young people from age two to 22 years.

Minister Peacock spent time chatting to some of the young people who love being at Eloquent Dance. Ayanna Knight has been part of Eloquent Dance for over ten years, starting there at 12 years’ old. Over that time, Ayanna has developed from a dedicated young dancer into a student teacher, creator and now one of Eloquent Dance’s choreographers. For the last five years, Ayanna has also been an active member of their Youth Board and played a pivotal role in their capital project funded by the Youth Investment Fund.

Nick Temple OBE, Chief Executive for Social Investment Business said:

“Today is a celebration of youth work, empowering young people, and looking forward to more long-term investment in the youth work landscape, made possible by the National Youth Strategy. As lead delivery partners for the Youth Investment Fund and the first phase of Better Youth Spaces, we know how transformational funds like these can be.”

Eloquent Dance was awarded a Youth Investment Fund grant of £470,880 to renovate and expand their facility, transforming it from an overcrowded multi-use space into a fit-for-purpose youth hub that gives young people the space to grow and thrive.

The funding has enabled Eloquent Dance to increase youth participation, rising from supporting 170 young people to 250 every week. The new space is accessible and larger which means it is more welcoming and accessible to support more young women and girls; disabled young people; and young people from Black and global majority backgrounds. New features include new and reconfigured internal spaces to improve flow, safety and upgrade dance and fitness studios, purpose-built mentoring and wellbeing rooms, a new digital and music production suite and modernised flooring, lighting, ventilation, and decoration.