A dance world in mourning

Yesterday morning the dance world heard the unfathomable. At the start of the school holidays in Southport in the north of England, what should have been a fun and light-hearted Taylor Swift themed dance and yoga workshop for 6-11 year olds, became everyone’s worst nightmare.

A 17 year old boy, whose motives remain unclear, barged into the class armed with a knife and viciously attacked 13 people. 3 children are dead. 8 more were severely injured, 5 of whom remain critical. 2 brave adults were also injured as they attempted to protect the young children. Many more children ran in fear for their lives and are now deeply traumatised.

Our hearts ache that the safe haven of a dance class has been violated in such a violent and horrific way and our deepest thoughts are with all the victims, their families and the community surrounding them, as they seek to come to terms with what has happened. 

In the days to come, we will hopefully know more but for now, we know the shockwaves from this horrendous act have been felt in dance studios and communities around the globe and will reverberate for some time to come. 

Our next steps in class will be heavy but may we dance them in tribute to those who had the joy of dance, and of life, stolen from them in this moment.

If you would like to offer your support, a Go Fund me page has been created by the pre school dance community to support whatever might be needed in the days and months to come. https://gofund.me/b817c227