Second Hand Dance's WE TOUCH, WE PLAY, WE DANCE Goes on Tour

Second Hand Dance return to live touring this spring with a beautifully crafted, gentle and playful experience that reaffirms the potency of touch. We Touch, We Play, We Dance is a celebratory dance experience for the very young (aged 0-3) and their grown-ups.

Four dancers weave around the space, inviting babies and children to join them in a warm-hearted and playful performance. Accompanied by music mixed live by a DJ, the dancers respond to the children, guiding them through a series of exchanges and encounters, with high fives, hugs and dancing.

Audiences are invited to join in, or just watch if they prefer, with two shows offered daily at each venue - a gentler morning show most suitable for babies aged 0-18 months, and an afternoon show for those over 18 months who may enjoy joining in more energetically. To provide a safe experience, the dancers and DJ take Covid tests before each show, sanitise their hands, the space and seating. Sanitiser will also be provided for audience members.

"Through touch we find the first glimpse of a primitive sense of self that provides a building block for social learning."
Andrew Meltzoff, Researcher in Developmental Science

We Touch, We Play We Dance offers a counter to the UK trend of 'no touch' policies within some school and children's centres, a trend which looks set to have become further entrenched as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Second Hand Dance's belief that touch is intrinsic to the development of babies and children is based on the research of developmental scientists and child psychologists including Andrew Meltzoff and Sean Cameron and this work has informed the creation of the piece.

Artistic Director of Second Hand Dance Rosie Heafford said "There is substantial social commentary on the negative associations of touch with children and infants. In We Touch, We Play, We Dance, we want to provide an alternative narrative. We are all touched hundreds of times each day, by loved ones, by strangers and by inanimate objects. Before our eyes develop outside the womb, we learn the world through touch. Touch connects, contains and stimulates. We're excited to be able to get out on the road again and can't wait to be dancing and moving with audiences again in the coming months."

Established in 2013, disabled-led Second Hand Dance create beautiful, sensory dance experiences (both live and digital) that are accessible and welcoming to all bodies, working locally, nationally and internationally from their base in Surrey. The company's way of working is centred on co-creation and collaboration with audiences and artists from many disciplines, with the vision of creating a world where dance, empathy, play and exploratory movement are central to the lives of children and adults. Most recently, Second Hand Dance Film's Night Tree Films featured on Sadler's Wells Digital Stage over the Christmas season 2021/22.

Tour Dates

6 February | Cambridge Junction
11.30am and 2pm
Tickets £10 adult/£6 baby/child
https://www.junction.co.uk/

9-11 February | Imagine Children's Festival - Southbank Centre
9 Feb, 1.30pm
10 - 11 Feb, 10.30am and 1.30pm
Tickets £7
https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/

12 February | Pavilion Dance South West
10.30am and 1.30pm
Tickets £6
https://www.pdsw.org.uk/

19 February | Chat's Palace, Hackney
11am and 2pm
Tickets £7-£10
https://chatspalace.com/

20 February | OYAP Trust, The Old St Edburg's School, Bicester
Times 10.30am and 1.30pm
Tickets £5
https://www.themillartscentre.co.uk/