Young and old dance with delight to the tune of £1 million funding boost

13 Feb 2018 11:15 AM

An exciting intergenerational dance project that will unite two talented Scottish dance groups, is one of 23 across the country today (13 FEB) sharing in £957,526 of dormant banks and building society cash from the Young Start fund. (See a full list of awards).

Thanks to a grant of £11,928, Generation Arts Association will unite two dance troups from Livingstone – Fizzy, made up of talented young people aged 12 to 17 and Vintage, a newly formed company of dancers aged 60 to 77, to become ‘A Fizzy Vintage’. Together they will create and perform a dance piece at the Luminate Arts festival in Howden Park Centre, Livingston, this October, proving that there are no age barriers to creativity.

Welcoming their award, Joanne Brown, Co-ordinator at Generation Arts Association, said: “We are absolutelry thrilled wth this award. Intergenerational work has been a passion of ours for a long time but resources don't often allow for a project of this scope.  Importantly for us behind the scenes, this award will also galvanise Vintage and help to raise their profile. Vintage are on the hunt for more members as they're still newly formed, so its a great time for any older dancers out there to come along and get back to dancing.”

Caragh, 15, a member of Fizzy, said: “The Vintage ladies are amazing. I love the fact that they still dance on stage and I can’t wait to dance more with them.”

Helen, 70, is also excited about the two groups performing together: “Working with the young people from Fizzy is an absolute pleasure – their youthful energy gives me a huge boost.”

Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said: “This funding will allow thousands of young Scots to pursue their hopes and aspirations while also building skills and confidence for the future. I am delighted that Generation Arts Association will benefit as part of this investment, allowing young people to explore their passion for dance and performance, while making new connections with older people in their communities.”

Young Start paused to new applications in early November 2017. For more information, call 0330 123 7110 or visit https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/youngstartfund.

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 0141 242 1458
Email: landa.sullivan@biglotteryfund.org.uk 
Website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Twitter: @BIGScotland 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigLotteryFundScotland

Notes to editors

• Dormant accounts are defined in the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008 as those which have seen no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years.  
• In September 2011 the Scottish Government formally issued instructions to the Big Lottery Fund to distribute dormant accounts funding for the benefit of Scotland’s voluntary and community sector.
• The Reclaim Fund Ltd. (RFL), which was established in March 2011 to receive and invest dormant account balances across the UK, transferred the first tranche of monies from dormant bank and building society accounts to BIG on 2 August 2011. Scotland will receive an 8.4% share of the total funds to be distributed.
• The Distribution of Dormant Account Money (Apportionment) Order 2011 prescribes that Scotland will receive 8.4% of the dormant accounts money to be made available for distribution by the Big Lottery Fund under the 2008 Act. The estimated grants budget for 2014/15 is £4.8m. It should be noted that this figure is a median projection and may go up or down.
• Since March 2007 Big Lottery Fund Scotland has taken devolved decisions on National  Lottery spending, the Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn plays a strategic role in the future direction of the Fund in Scotland.
• Since June 2004 we have awarded over £8.5 billion to projects across the UK that change the lives of millions of people. We supported communities to deliver 13,000 projects across the UK last year, thanks to National Lottery Funding.
• Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £37 billion has been raised for Good Causes funding over 510,000 projects.