TeesDance Youth Company to perform at Sadler’s Wells

A group of young dancers from the Tees Valley have been chosen to show their moves at the internationally renowned Sadler’s Wells East Theatre in London.

TeesDance Youth Company are one of only eight groups in the country to be invited to perform at the prestigious National Making Moves platform, which showcases the next generation of dancers and choreographers.  

Praised by the judges for their ‘thoughtful, energetic and inspiring dance’, their success will see 17-year-old Amelia Leone and 15-year-old Evie Hetherington from Middlesbrough; Bobbie Pickering, 16, from Billingham and Janaki Prasad, 12, from Stockton, join Ava Bradley, 16 and Liv Rispin, 12, from Darlington along with brothers Quin and Theo Hancock, 18 & 14, head to London on July 23 to perform on the world famous Sadlers Wells stage.   

A total of 43 school and youth groups around the country have been working for the past year with digital choreographic toolkits created by award-winning choreographers.  And after performing at a regional platform at Northern Stage in March 2025, TeesDance Youth Company have been selected – along with only seven other groups from around the country – to perform their piece Listen Up.

It's a remarkable achievement for an organisation that was only established in 2023.  Stockton-born dance professional Amy Swalwell returned to her native Teesside to establish TeesDance after working for over a decade with national dance and theatre organisations.  Her ambition is to create a thriving, vibrant, and diverse dance offer in the Tees Valley and over the last two years, she has worked with 19,523 participants and audiences through eight projects. 

Amy is passionate about how the arts play a vital role in changing people’s lives, developing communities and challenging social inequalities and TeesDance’s mass participation dance HOME performed at last year’s Middlesbrough Mela did just that, bringing together a diverse range of communities, ages and abilities to perform a joyous and uplifting mass dance in the wake of the violence that swept the country.   

Funded by Arts Council England and Tees Valley Combined Authority, TeesDance has not only provided opportunities for young dancers and choreographers; professional dancers and practitioners, but it has also worked in hard-to-reach communities across South Tees, using dance to bring about real change.   

Says Amy, “I believe everyone can dance, but not everyone has the chance.  We have some incredible talent in the Tees Valley, but with no dance sector, people don’t stay here.  We are trying to change that, and opportunities like this, to perform at Sadler's Wells, are exactly what our young people need to aspire to.   They have worked incredibly hard over the last year, and I am so proud that they have been chosen over so many far more established groups. I can’t wait to see them perform on that admired stage!’ 

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “It is fantastic to see talented local young people get the opportunity to perform at such a globally renowned venue and showcase their incredible abilities.

"This is a superb achievement and supporting opportunities like this is exactly why we want to inspire our young people and show that world-class creativity can come from right here in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool."