Young people perform a poetry-inspired dance show for Warwick audience

The Dance recital, inspired by The Panther, a poem by Bohemian-Austrian writer Rainer Maria Rilke, was performed by youngsters from across Warwickshire in association with the Spencer Yard-based Motionhouse dance company - whose artistic director choreographed the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Paralympics - in Warwick town centre.

Motionhouse had worked with the young people for just under a week to come up with the Fusion15 performance, which was followed by a performance by the professional dancers in the company.

The event was opened by Warwickshire’s Young Poet Laureate Lauren Parsons, who had written a poem entitled Captive, inspired by Rilke’s The Panther. Lauren said: “I’ve loved playing a small part in the project and helping the dancers to investigate their chosen theme of ‘Captive’ through poetry. I think feeling trapped is something that we can all relate to in some shape or form, and so the dance was wonderful to watch as well as very inspiring.”

To see Lauren reading her poem, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lFLxTrecTg

The Fusion15 programme was run by Motionhouse with a grant from the King Henry VIII Endowment Fund and support from Warwickshire Libraries, which provided poetry books to inspire the young dancers taking part.