YOUTH dance company All Boys Dance is joining forces with Hall For Cornwall to launch two brand new classes for young male dancers.

The new classes – one for boys aged between seven and 13 and one for boys aged 14 and over – will take place one Sunday a month beginning at the end of April.

While All Boys Dance Company (A.B.D.) has previously staged considerable amounts of workshops, platforms and performance opportunities for young male dancers across the South West, including a number of curtain raiser performances for professional touring companies and commissioned projects, this is the first time that Artistic Director Rob Mennear said: “I first began dancing as part of an all boys dance group while I was at secondary school in St Austell and ever since then dance has been at the centre of my life," he said. “I am very excited at the opportunity to work with Hall For Cornwall to provide opportunities for others to share my passion for dance and create the same positive memories that I still treasure today.

“Setting up these classes has been one of my goals for a long time and I would like to thank Helen Tiplady and Hall For Cornwall for making it possible."

Helen said: “I’m delighted we are able to help and support Rob with A.B.D.” she said.

“Hall For Cornwall are dedicated to providing the highest quality dance and theatre experiences to young people across Cornwall and joining forces means we can work with more young people and provide more opportunities. Rob is a very special teacher and choreographer and I’m excited to see where this work can go and

inspire the next generation of male dancers."

Rob has been a professional performer since graduating from the London Contemporary Dance School in 2007. Since then he has performed nationally and internationally with some of the UK’s and Europe’s top dance companies, including IJAD Dance, Jose Vidal, Ffin Dance, Freefall and Cscape.

Rob’s passion for collaborating has led him to work with artists from across the UK from different disciplines and backgrounds, including film, theatre and photography. Rob has previously worked with Kneehigh as part of the Rambles project Run for Your Life, Panta Rei, Open Online Theatre, Plymouth’s Barbican and Theatre Royal, composer Ben Sutcliffe and long-standing relationship with Angela Praed as well as with Hall For Cornwall.

A collaboration with Spindrift Dance Company saw him working with youth dance companies and other professional practitioners on a project in Denmark.

His enthusiasm for teaching led to the formation of the All Boys Dance Company in 2015, providing young dancers with the opportunity to work alongside local and invited professionals to create and then perform new and exciting contemporary works at a range of indoor and outdoor venues across the south west.

He also co-directs Hall For Cornwall’s Youth Dance Company and teaches in schools, colleges and dance institutes across Cornwall and Devon.

Recent successful projects include A.B.D’s Cross Generation Project, where A.B.D worked with male dancers and performers from across the south est, aged between 12 and 18 plus to devise new pieces of work which were then staged in a range of venues, including Liskeard’s Sterts Theatre and Amata in Falmouth. A.B.D have had the opportunity to be involved in great site-specific performance opportunities including Clay Walks 2018, where the young dancers performed with Spindrift Dance and other youth, community and professional companies at the Wheal Martyn Museum.

In 2017 Rob formed his own professional dance company GRIT with funding from the Arts Council England, exploring the theme of male isolation, resulting in "When Angels Blink".

The first All Boys Dance classes will be held on Sunday, April 21 and will then take place monthly. The venue is still being confirmed. Classes are open to all regardless of previous experience.

For more information about the classes, contact the Arts Development team at artsdevelopment@hallforcornwall.org.uk