Pupils from Dundee Secondary Schools performed at the Active Schools Dance Festival (12th March), which was led by Active School coordinators, Dance Leaders and education staff.
The Dance Festival aims to get as many Secondary pupils involved in Dance clubs and events as possible and to create pathways for participation, choreography, event organisation, volunteering, and Leadership in Dance.
Over 200 secondary school pupils from Dundee showcased their talents in Street, Contemporary, and Around the World categories. Dance Leaders, ex-pupils, and teaching staff supported choreography, providing a platform for friends, families, and dance lovers to celebrate the experience.
Event preparation began in June 2025, with 4th and 5th-year pupils from Dundee Secondary Schools attending a week-long Dance Leaders Level 5 qualification (Sports Leaders UK) led by Daniel Aing (Dundee and Angus College) and Gillian Pack (Active Schools). This has given them the confidence to choreograph and lead dance in their schools.
James Fenna, Active Schools Manager at Leisure & Culture Dundee, said
“Becoming a Dance Leader is a fantastic role. Not only is it a great way to develop new skills, build confidence and meet like-minded people, but the programme also helps youngsters develop as leaders by influencing and reflecting the views of other young people. We encourage our Young Leaders to motivate and inspire others to get into sport and physical activity, helping shape decisions to ensure youngsters have the best possible experience across Dundee.”
Gillian Pack, Active Schools Coordinator & Freelance Dance Teacher, said
“The Dundee Secondary Schools Dance Festival has developed into such an amazing event over the years. It’s not only a great celebration of dance and a chance for pupils to show off their dance skills and choreography, but it is also a great way to bring pupils and schools together, focusing on teamwork, creativity, and engaging as many pupils as possible throughout our schools. Whether this is performing, leading dance clubs, choreographing, editing music, fundraising, or helping at the event, everyone contributes in their own way. It’s a great way for pupils to meet new people, step out of their comfort zone and grow in confidence. For some, it is their very first time experiencing being on a stage! The teams all work so hard in the lead up to this event and the standard of dance and choreography is absolutely incredible across all three categories.
It was wonderful to have some of our guest performances, including Ancrum Primary, Urban Moves Performance Companies, and students from the Dundee and Angus College Dance Course. We were also lucky to have Kingspark School Dance Company and Tayside Sing it Sign it Makaton choir perform together again, which was very heart warming. What a fantastic performance for all involved. Well done to all the young people taking part, to all the dance leaders, teachers, school staff, volunteers, and to the family and friends who came along to support them all. There is always such a fantastic buzz at this event and we are all looking forward to next year’s festival already with hopefully lots of new faces joining us!”
Invited along to judge at this year's event were Jenni Peters, Lisa Bibby, Bridie Ganes, and Daniel Aing, who were all extremely impressed by the talent, work and dedication that had gone into this festival.
This year's show opened with our “Boys Dance Too” project performing a dance piece, which involved young boys from different schools coming together to perform and make a statement that: Boys Dance Too. The opening piece choreographed by Gillian Pack and our male Dance Leaders, started with our wonderful host, Archie Turnbull singing “I won’t Dance” (sinatra) jesting to the audience as he walked through, to a young boy being bullied for taking part in dance, to many boys moving elegantly to “Electricity”(Elton John) showing how dancing makes them feel, finishing with an energetic “The Boys are Back” number.
It was great to see so many boys up on stage, a fantastic performance, and for some, it was their first time on a stage! Throughout the show, everyone was very supportive, and the atmosphere was fantastic. We watched as the secondary students on stage inspired some of the younger generations in the audience to dance and cheer.
All dance groups performed to a very high standard, and the scores were very close again, with Greenfield Academy winning Contemporary Dance, St Paul's RC Academy winning Around the World, and St John's RC High School winning the Street Dance Category. The Boys Dance Too were selected as our overall star performance group and Erin Kyle (Dance Leader from Harris Academy) was selected as our individual overall star performer of the night. A huge well done to everyone who took part!
Photos by Bob Pack Photographer
