DAZL was set up as a two year Health Action Zone project aimed at improving health through dance activity in targeted areas of disadvantage throughout Leeds. The core aims are to:

Government statistics for the area of South Leeds that DAZL works within place the Middleton ward as the tenth most deprived ward in Leeds and nationally within the top 20% of wards with the highest level of indicators of deprivation.

DAZL currently runs a range of different dance opportunities for a variety of age groups from eight years upwards. The project addresses and focuses on key social divisions of gender, class, ethnicity and disability. DAZL runs a training course for Dance Leaders in the community which is linked to the Yorkshire Dance Centre and is creditably recognised by the Sports and Arts Councils. Other activities run by DAZL include:

DAZL’s philosophy is one of contributing towards the broad range of factors which influence health, including social, economic factors and environmental factors. In short, DAZL aims to address holistic health issues and is based on the socio-economic model of health.

As outlined above, DAZL has run a number of different dance projects and activities. Due to the size of DAZL, this evaluation focuses on only one DAZL project, the Rock Challenge at Merlyn Rees School. This project was chosen to be broadly representative of the other work taking place as part of DAZL and outlines some of the outcomes that can result from providing community based dance opportunities

Health Action Zones (HAZ) were set up by the Government to target health inequalities. Their purpose is to bring together all those contributing to the health of the local population to develop and implement a locally agreed strategy for improving the health of local people. The Leeds HAZ was set up in 1999 with funding until 2002. HAZ’s are intended to release local energy and innovation to target specific health issues, tackle ill health and address inequalities in health (DoH, 1999). In addressing this remit, HAZ Leeds provided impetus and importantly funding, for the initiation of DAZL and also the DAZL Rock Challenge project. Furthermore, HAZ has provided opportunities for the development of new partnerships to reshape services in South Leeds in order to improve health outcomes for the local population. This emphasis on sustainability through local alliances is fundamental to contemporary health policy (Baggott, 2000).

Merlyn Rees is a mixed 11-16 inner city school located in Belle Isle, South Leeds. It has an intake of approximately six hundred and fifty students. The students at the school come from the local communities of Belle Isle and Middleton. This catchment area is identified by HAZ as a region of social and economic disadvantage. Merlyn Rees is described by Leeds City Council Education Department as an improving school and the school is continually working hard to enhance its reputation. The school’s mission statement identifies four main areas where improvements are concentrated: improving behaviour and motivation; raising achievement; raising aspirations and raising self-esteem.

Rock Challenge is a national dance competition run for schools from across the country. This culminates in a semi-final event held at a regional level and a national final held annually in London. The aim of the national Rock Challenge competition is:

The focus of the competition is on young people leading healthy lifestyles and being/doing their best without the need for tobacco, alcohol or other drugs (Rock Challenge, 2000). A holistic view of health was encapsulated in the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO, 1946) which emphasises the significance of a multidimensional view of health. Subsequent definitions of health have conceptualised it not as a state, but as a process towards the achievement of each person’s potential (WHO, 1986). This more recent pronouncement from the WHO recognises the dynamic nature of health and its numerous social and environmental connections. It is this approach that underpins the approach of the DAZL Rock Challenge 2001.

The Rock Challenge competition was initiated in Australia twenty-one years ago and is now a popular international event, particularly in New Zealand and the United Kingdom (UK). In the UK approximately one hundred and forty schools participate each year.

The Dance Action Zone Leeds (DAZL) Project has been successfully running the DAZL Rock Challenge initiative at Merlyn Rees Community High School, Belle Isle, South Leeds for the past four years. In 1997, the first year that Merlyn Rees was involved in DAZL Rock Challenge, they won the National final and the performance was televised nationally. The DAZL Rock Challenge project at Merlyn Rees School has provided a worthy case study for evaluating the work of DAZL in the Belle Isle area and to explore holistic health issues for young people.

Auditions for DAZL Rock Challenge took place in November 2000. Fifty students (42 young women and 8 young men), representing all ages in the school, were selected to take part and 8 students were placed on a waiting list. The Project Leader and the Head of Arts at Merlyn Rees Community High School undertook the selection process of identifying the participants. The criteria used reflected the DAZL aims. Students were not only selected for their dance ability and commitment to the project, but consideration was given also to students’ level of engagement within school curricula activities. However, some students identified by the school as being in danger of exclusion through behavioural difficulties were selected in the hope that the DAZL Rock Challenge Project would offer them an interest in school.

In relation to health, many of the students selected smoked heavily and included;

All the students had volunteered themselves for the audition in the knowledge that the dance training sessions would run after school in their own time. Many had developed and worked at their dance routines for the audition in their lunch breaks and after school. This demonstrates the enthusiasm that there was for the DAZL Rock Challenge project this year.

The DAZL Rock Challenge practice sessions ran on a Tuesday and Thursday after school from 3.15pm to 4.00pm using two of the Merlyn Rees school gymnasium. Attendance at the sessions was compulsory. Students failing to attend were dropped from the production and were replaced by people from the waiting list. Students gained guardian/parental permission to be involved in the rehearsals and for them to be taken out of school on the day of the semi-finals.

The sessions were lead by the Project Leader and two local dancers, who had both completed the DAZL Community Dance Leaders award. The dance style used in DAZL Rock Challenge was described by the dance leaders as a mixture of street dance, disco, hip-hop with other contemporary dance influences. This type of dance was seen as ‘cool’ by the young people involved and was something that they could relate to and feel comfortable to engage with.

Each year the DAZL Rock Challenge performance at Merlyn Rees has been based around a health related issue such as the dangers of drugs and anti-smoking. The DAZL Rock Challenge approach is based on empowerment, involving the students themselves taking a lead on deciding the theme for the year. During the first few weeks of the programme the year eleven students met to discuss and develop ideas for this year’s theme and costumes supported by the Project Leader and the Head of the Arts department.

The theme chosen for the production was that of ‘being a strong independent women - not dependent on men’. The production was to be based on the concept of a video game, in which a dancer took the part of Lara Croft, a video character depicting a girl maturing into womanhood by moving through the different levels of the video game. The different stages of personal development were separated into four levels, with four distinct themes, expressed through four separate dances. Level One involved the theme of independence, which was expressed through dance to the words of the song ‘Independent Woman’ by Destiny’s Child. Level Two focused on courage demonstrating the strength and power needed to overcome adversity. A love scene danced in Level Three, highlighted the need for ‘love’ in order to grow and the finale, Level Four, was an exotic Egyptian scene played out in an Egyptian court, involving the theme of achievement. These four levels depicted the life skills needed for a strong independent woman.

A high priority for the project was to incorporate the general aims of DAZL, as identified in section 1.2.2.

Additional aims included the provision of:

• opportunities for young people to achieve at a high level;
• a high quality dance performance;
• dance skills to meet individuals’ potential.

These specific aims are best summarised by the Project Leader:

The aims of the evaluation of the DAZL Rock Challenge project were to research, examine and identify the holistic health benefits of the dance project as identified by all those involved. By using a multi-method approach the aim was to collect information from a range of different sources. The evaluation was conducted externally by the Centre for Leisure and Sport Research, Leeds Metropolitan University.

The evaluation of the DAZL project commenced at the end of November 2000 and was completed in August 2001. The research methodology involved:

1) Interviews:

• qualitative semi-structured interviews with the 2 project co-ordinators, 2 dance leaders and the co-ordinator of the Belle Isle Foundation;
• 6 informal interviews with parents/guardians of the students;
• 3 informal interviews with teachers at Merlyn Rees school.

All semi-structured interviews were recorded and transcribed. Notes from the informal interviews were written up immediately after each discussion in a standard format.

2) Questionnaires

• 2 relating specifically to smoking cessation;
• 1 exploring the students’ perceptions and experiences particularly in relation to health benefits.

The questionnaires were collated and coded in relation to key themes and analysed using Microsoft SPSS.

3) Focus Groups

These took place in 2 phases:

• 3 focus groups with 5/6 students who had taken part in previous Rock Challenge events and were involved again this year (conducted in February 2001);
• 4 focus groups with 4/5 students who were taking part for the first time (conducted in May 2001)

The focus group discussions which lasted approx. 25 minutes were taped.

4) Observations

These included:

• 18 DAZL Rock Challenge sessions;
• 6 key events including:

- two creative thinking sessions where students decided on the themes and

costumes for this years performances;

- the DAZL showcase;

- the DAZL Rock Challenge performance for parents;

- the final Rock Challenge competition held in Bridlington;

- the post performance party at Merlyn Rees School.

Observations were recorded and provided information on the health benefits of DAZL Rock Challenge, practical workings of the project, leadership styles and the group dynamics of the participants.

5) Video Commentaries

These took place in 2 stages and involved students talking about their experiences and views of DAZL Rock Challenge in front of a video camera. The following were conducted:

• 8 students prior to the final performance;
• 8 students in pairs after the performance.

Each student was given a list of unfinished statements to complete. A researcher clarified the process before the videoing. The students were given approximately five minutes with the video camera. Due to the nervousness of some of the students during the first stage of video commentaries, the participants involved in the second stage were requested to talk in pairs in front of the camera. Key themes were identified from the footage to support data collected from the other research methods.

6) Photographic and Video Images

Photographic images were obtained from a range of sources including:

• video material collected during the research;
• photographs taken by Belle Isle Foundation at the DAZL show case;
• photographs taken by an independent photographer at the Rock Challenge Competition in Bridlington.

(Copies of all the research questions/themes used in the different evaluative methods appear in the appendices).

As noted in 1.1 an holistic view of health as encapsulated in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO, 1946), structures the findings of this evaluation.

One of the aims of the DAZL Rock Challenge project at Merlyn Rees was to engage with young people who were not physically active in or out of school. The following chart shows some of the sports-related activities participated in by the students.

91% of the students who completed the general questionnaire stated that they liked sport. These sports included football, rugby, tennis, and rounders. Several young women in the focus groups spoke about playing football out of school. In relation to physical activity, many students reflected on the distance they walked each day with one girl discussing how she walked 4 miles a day. A popular activity that many of the young people talked about was ‘going clubbing’ to a local nightclub, where in some cases they said they would dance ‘all night long’. Some of the young women saw this as being very physically active. The evidence from the students suggests that the majority perceive that they are physically active.

However, in contrast, the perceptions of the teachers and dance co-ordinators suggest that the young people, particularly the young women were relatively inactive.

DAZL Rock Challenge was seen to be providing the opportunity for some of the young people to be active particularly the young women.

The project co-ordinators considered that on the whole most of the young people involved in the DAZL Rock Challenge project did not get enough physical activity in or out of school. However, the data suggests that although many of the young women were ‘opting out’ of the formalised PE programme in school, some of them actually did lead relatively active lifestyles. They tended to dislike the institutionalised forms of sport and PE but were active in their leisure primarily through walking, dance and some sporting activities particularly football.

Within the group there was an awareness of the need to take exercise. The next two pie charts illustrate the percentage of students who took part in DAZL Rock Challenge firstly to get some exercise and secondly to get healthier.

69% of the groups said that they took part in DAZL Rock Challenge to get exercise and 75% of the group said they took part to get healthier.

94% of the students indicated that participating in DAZL made them feel healthier.

The following table and chart show the different health benefits attributed by the students to their involvement in DAZL project.

From these results it is clear that the majority of the students who completed the questionnaires linked feeling more flexible, fitter, more balanced and stronger to their involvement in DAZL Rock Challenge.

The DAZL Rock Challenge sessions gave the young people two hours a week of full aerobic exercise. This was perceived by the co-ordinators to be particularly beneficial in providing exercise opportunities for a group of young women many of whom have ‘dropped out’ of formal physical education provision in school. This co-ordinator made the comment that:

The focus groups provided evidence that the young people recognised physical health benefits from participating in DAZL Rock Challenge. One girl commented how she felt much fitter because she could stretch much more and another talked about being able to run further now that she was doing DAZL Rock Challenge. As another commented:

In the video commentaries one girl commented:

The data showed that increased fitness, flexibility and weight loss were all perceived health gains that the young people attributed to their DAZL Rock Challenge involvement.

The DAZL Rock Challenge project provided a range of opportunities for health-related issues to be discussed. These included:

• smoking;
• parenthood;
• pregnancy;
• prostitution.

One of the co-ordinators discussed how targeted conversations were held with certain students, for example, about smoking. At other times health issues were raised more generally. For example, when one of the dance leaders brought her baby into the school, she was able to put across to the group the potential difficulties of having a baby at a young age and the challenge of having a dance career and a baby.

Another observed discussion was between a co-ordinator and year eleven young women (who were due to leave school at the end of the academic year). The conversation stemmed from the performance theme. The co-ordinator encouraged the young women to talk about what they thought ‘being an independent woman meant’. The co-ordinator then turned the discussion towards whether it was necessary to always be dependent on a man, and what the downfalls might be for a woman. The group conversation mainly led by the young women at this point then moved towards the possible dangers of falling into prostitution. For some of the young women in the group this appeared to be a thought provoking conversation.

The project co-ordinators increased awareness about the health implications of smoking through discussion with the students. As a group the young people were generally aware that smoking was bad for them. They also knew that Rock Challenge has a no smoking policy as part of its philosophy. In a video commentary one girl said she thought:

Data from the questionnaires on smoking did not particularly support this view. The following findings came from the Smoking Cessation Project questionnaire completed two weeks before the Rock Challenge competition at Bridlington.

Twenty-eight of the students were present when this questionnaire was completed. In total 18 of the students identified themselves as non-smokers and 9 of the students wanted to stop smoking. Only one student wanted to stop smoking now.

From the twenty-one Smoking Cessation Project questionnaires completed on the day of the Bridlington competition 15 students said they did not smoke and within this number 4 of the students had given up over 6 months ago. Only one girl said that being part of DAZL Rock Challenge had made a difference. All of the students who identified themselves as smokers, 6 in total, said they wanted to stop. 2 of these said they wanted to ‘stop now’ and 4 said stop ‘some day, but not sure when’.

In the second questionnaire, 8 of the students suggested that DAZL Rock Challenge had made them feel healthier by stopping smoking and 12 students ticked that DAZL Rock Challenge had made them feel healthier by making them feel positive about their decision to stop smoking. This is a positive outcome for the DAZL Rock Challenge project because in a local culture where smoking is common, DAZL is supporting these young people in their decision either not to take up smoking or to give up.

The DAZL Rock Challenge project provided a supportive culture for the young people to learn new dance skills. In a video commentary one student described this as:

From the observations and videos of the sessions over the five-month period, it was clear that the young people in the project developed their dance technique to a high level. This level was good enough to win them third place at the Rock Challenge regional competition. The videos of the dance sessions demonstrate the range of ability within the group. Some of the students were naturally more able dancers. By the time the Bridlington competition arrived, all the members of the group danced to a standard that produced an impressive dance piece for the competition. This was achieved through the hard work of the students and the dance leaders and co-ordinators. Many had had to work very hard to get their dance to the standard required.

Some of the students were involved in constructing the stage set and props for the performance. This involved constructing and painting the backdrop to the show as well as making props and parts of some of the costumes that the dancers wore. These opportunities opened up another area of skills learning for some of the students.

DAZL Rock Challenge is perceived by the participants and co-ordinators to have:

• increased access to exercise;
• increased fitness;
• increased flexibility;
• supported weight loss;
• promoted awareness about the ill effects of smoking;
• provided a supportive culture for those students who chose not to smoke;
• provided the opportunity to discuss a range of different health related topics with the students;
• provided opportunities for physical skill development.

Increased self-confidence was a benefit that was identified throughout the research.

97% of the students indicated that they thought being involved in the DAZL Rock Challenge project gave them more confidence to dance in front of other

people and 84% of the students said they felt more confident about their bodies because of doing DAZL Rock Challenge.

In the video commentaries 8 students commented that doing DAZL Rock Challenge made them feel more confident. One of these students said:

For some of the students (3 video commentaries) feeling more confident was directly linked to feeling better about their bodies because they were doing exercise. One of these young women said:

Several students discussed in the focus groups how for them, increased self-confidence came from meeting new people from other schools at the Rock Challenge competition in Bridlington. Other aspects of being part of the project gave the students a sense of increased self-confidence. One student in a focus group commented:

The ‘buzz’ factor from performing on stage was something that was often discussed in the focus groups. The experience of being very nervous and uncertain before the performance, then going on stage, doing the best that they could and receiving applause, was for some of the students a very important experience. One student commented:

"You feel important" said another student. Some of the young people commented on how they felt an increased sense of self-esteem because of the applause and the recognition of their achievements. They had produced a piece of work that they were proud of and that other people liked. This visible appreciation made them feel good about themselves.

Other students talked about the actual process of the performance on stage. For these students the importance came from experiencing the pre-performance nerves and worries about doing something they had never done before. Several students in the focus groups talked about how going through this experience gave them confidence to try other new things that they had

not done before. Some of them said that they would now risk trying out new things because DAZL Rock Challenge had been a positive experience for them.

It was clear from talking to the students and from the observations that they had a certain amount of pride about their performance piece and also about being part of the DAZL Rock Challenge project. One student described her feelings about being in the performance:

The students showed pride in their participation in DAZL Rock Challenge and were enthusiastic that their parents would have the opportunity to see the finished performance at a special showing in the week prior to the competition. They also were keen to have a copy of the video of the dance performance to show to friends after the competition.

Many of the students noted how participation in DAZL Rock Challenge gave them credibility within school. One girl described this as:

Several students discussed how other people at school identified them with DAZL Rock Challenge and how that was seen as a very positive thing. The students did not see DAZL Rock Challenge as linked to lessons and teachers, but as a separate activity which had much greater ‘school cred’ than class time activities. DAZL Rock Challenge appeared to be seen by some of the students involved as demanding a level of focus and commitment that, according to the project co-ordinators, they were less willing to give to formal school activities.

DAZL Rock Challenge was seen as important for the morale and profile of the whole school:

All of the participants involved in the second stage of focus groups and video commentaries spoke about feeling pride in relation to doing DAZL Rock

Challenge. For some of these students the pride was for the actual performance. One student when talking about the performance at Bridlington said,

"I think ours was really good quality"

Other students were proud of the level of energy and commitment they had put into the performance:

Other students talked about feeling proud that they had represented the school in this way and coming third, getting best set and best lighting prizes.

Being creative was a necessary part of the process for all the students involved. Creativity manifested itself in a range of different ways. The dance itself was obviously a creative process in which the students had to learn to express themselves physically.

The dance theme was also creative as discussed earlier in relation to its development by both the students and the dance co-ordinators.

Merlyn Rees is a CAPE school (Creative Arts Partnership in Education). Recent CAPE conference proceedings define creativity as "making, imagining, taking risks, identifying and solving complex problems, making connections between areas of thinking that seem completely separate. Its about entering the unknown" (CAPE, 2000). The development of the DAZL Rock Challenge piece incorporated all these aspects of creativity in both its conception and also in its production. For example as discussed earlier, some of the students felt that performing on stage was an unknown, and therefore a risk. The project supported them through this experience and enabled them to grow in confidence because of it. DAZL Rock Challenge appeared to offer the young people a creative learning opportunity.

One of the criteria for the students to be involved in the DAZL Rock Challenge was that they would show commitment to the project by regularly turning up for the practice sessions. To stay as part of the dance group the young people had to be at the practice sessions or to provide a good reason for not attending.

It was observed that as the sessions continued and the group skills developed, the commitment to the performance developed within the group. At practices the students would generally concentrate on what they were told

to do, and work hard to achieve the aims. One of the co-ordinators talked about the students developing a ‘DAZL Rock Challenge attitude’ during the time they were involved in the project. By the time the young people got to the competition in Bridlington, as a group they were keenly focused on performing their dance piece to the best of their ability. There was no disruptive behaviour from the Merlyn Rees students during the day at Bridlington and the group was on a number of occasions self-monitoring in relation to noise levels at times when it was necessary for them to be quiet. The commitment to doing well appeared to extend beyond just doing a good performance and into aspects of expected good behaviour throughout the preparation and the performance.

The parents who were interviewed at the DAZL showcase all said how they thought their child’s behaviour had changed over the time of their involvement. One parent talked about how her daughter had started to spend her evenings practising her dance routine in her bedroom instead of watching television. Another saw a direct link between DAZL Rock Challenge and his daughter’s attendance and behaviour at school:

One of the young men in a video commentary said that he thought that doing DAZL Rock Challenge had calmed him down. He said:

"I used to be right bad, but its calmed me down a lot"

Furthermore, one of the community dance leaders felt that doing DAZL Rock Challenge in previous years had helped him change his behaviour at school:

Both these young men attribute changes in their behaviour to being part of the DAZL Rock Challenge project.

During the teacher interviews one teacher said that DAZL Rock Challenge motivated the students and was something they were interested in. For some of the students it was their only chance of success at school. For others the project was a way out of home and something to distract them from their family problems. This teacher felt that DAZL Rock Challenge improved attendance particularly in year 11. She thought that one of the main dancers in this years project only sustained her last year at Merlyn Rees because she was motivated by DAZL Rock Challenge. Otherwise she might well have lost interest in school long ago and attained no formal qualifications.

One teacher interviewed identified a student who had particularly low self-esteem and could be very angry and destructive at times. This student had done DAZL Rock Challenge this year. During school time the student’s behaviour in the run up to the competition finals had been difficult and questions were raised about her being allowed to participate in the project. Yet, due to the fact that she was well behaved at the actual DAZL Rock Challenge sessions and had done the necessary work she was allowed to take part in the final competition on special agreed terms. This teacher felt that the DAZL Rock Challenge experience had provided something to build on in the future with this young woman.

The same teacher also talked about other students acting with greater maturity at the Rock Challenge Finals than she had seen them do previously. This maturity was revealed in the way in which older members of the group looked after younger members, and the level of team pride in the group.

Both teachers mentioned, also, that being involved in DAZL Rock Challenge can make some students over-confident and more difficult to teach. One teacher discussed a post DAZL Rock Challenge fallout when behaviour and attainment dropped to a low level. Teachers therefore thought that DAZL Rock Challenge in the main produced positive behavioural changes, but could in certain circumstances make some students more difficult to manage.

DAZL Rock Challenge enabled the students to have a learning opportunity in which they could analyse and reflect on their own performance and the decision of the competition judges in a supported environment.

At the Bridlington finals when the results were announced Merlyn Rees came third over all. Reactions to this differed amongst the students. Some of the students were philosophical and one said,

‘Well that’s not bad, third is a bronze medal’.

Some of the students however were disappointed about the result.

By the following Tuesday when the post-performance party was held, the students had had time to reflect on the Rock Challenge Finals. On the bus on the way home a teacher had watched the video of the Merlyn Rees performance with the group (9 times - as requested by the students). At the party the group as a whole appeared much more accepting of the judges decision about their performance. They talked about different parts of the performance where they could have done better. This acceptance for some of

the students suggests quite a shift in attitude and how they had moved into a much more reflective and mature way of seeing the outcomes of the competition. Some students seemed to have gone through quite a fast learning experience to reach this more philosophical position within just a few days of the Rock Challenge final.

The data indicated that the students involved in DAZL Rock Challenge perceived that they had grown in self-confidence and had an increased sense of wellbeing because of their involvement. This confidence and sense of wellbeing appeared to manifest itself in a number of different ways for the young people. They spoke about:

• overcoming shyness;
• feeling better about their bodies;
• feeling more confident when they meet new people;
• the buzz factor from doing well;
• confidence to risk trying new things;
• a culture of mutual support within the group;
• a sense of shared identity;
• group solidarity;
• a sense of responsibility to the group.

Furthermore, DAZL Rock Challenge appeared to:

• instil a sense of pride in the students involved;
• give them a credible identity within school;
• give the school an improved self image;
• develop a commitment to doing a good performance;
• support the development of a ‘DAZL Rock Challenge Attitude’;
• allow creativity;
• in some cases make individuals reflect on changes in their own behaviour.

Data from the general questionnaires suggested that social benefits were identified as being important for initial involvement in the project.

75% students said that ‘being with friends’ and 78% students said ‘making new friends’ were important aspects of their involvement. When they were asked what they liked about actually being part of the project 56% students said that they ‘like a lot having a laugh with friends’ and 38% said they ‘liked a lot making new friends’. In a video commentary one of the young men involved in the project said that he had got involved because it gave him the opportunity ‘to meet a few girls’.

From observations of the dance rehearsals it was clear to see that the students developed as a group. The Project Leader commented:

The Project Co-ordinator said:

Observations at the Rock Challenge competition in Bridlington highlighted some of the team spirit and group bonding that was occurring during the DAZL Rock Challenge process. The performances commenced at 7.00pm and Merlyn Rees were the third performance of the evening. The Merlyn Rees students started getting ready at 5.00pm, doing hair, make-up and putting on costumes. The excitement and nerves of the group were obvious.

The young people worked together as a group, fixing each others hair, doing each others make-up, watching each other dance parts of the routine that some of them did not feel so confident about. There was a strong sense of common purpose and solidarity. All the students were taking their part in the event very seriously and they were all focused on doing a good performance. One particular incident that highlighted the solidarity of the group related to one of the young men who danced the part of the green alien dragon in the fight routine. Half way through the afternoon he got ‘stage fright’ and by the evening he had been sick three times and looked very unwell. At least six of the other students of different ages and genders, went over and talked to him to try and make him feel better and to encourage him. They asked him how he was and told him that ‘it would be ok’, that he ‘was good at his part’, that ‘he knew his part really well’, and that ‘he was an important part in the piece’. Just before the call to go down to the stage, the young man dancing the part of the green alien dragon quietly got his costume together and put it on and performed his part. (Observation notes)

This indicates something of the sense of importance of doing a good

performance that the students shared. It also showed something of the nature of the mutual support, group identity and team solidarity that had grown up out of DAZL Rock Challenge. In a video commentary one of the students described how she saw the group dynamics:

This young person identified a positive team building process and a shared responsibility for the performance within the group. In a focus group another girl said:

Again this student felt responsible to the group and for her that responsibility made her feel important.

It has become apparent throughout the process of the evaluation that the various activities and courses developed under the umbrella organisation of DAZL interrelate and feed into each other. As discussed in the introduction various dance courses and sessions are run throughout the South Leeds area. The Community Dance Leaders training course has produced a number of people who now teach across other areas of the DAZL provision, including DAZL Rock Challenge.

The following table shows the number of groups and participants involved in DAZL community groups and the involvement of the trainees in running the community sessions.

The DAZL Rock Challenge project is a good example of the DAZL leadership training filtering through to the community. Dave and Marie (pseudonyms) teach dance for DAZL Rock Challenge and are local people who, through the support of DAZL, are pursuing a career in dance. They provide an example of how sustainability and community ownership has been developed through

dance in the Belle Isle area. Both Dave and Marie provide case studies that clearly highlight the ways in which different aspects of the DAZL project interconnect. The following is a précis of interview material collected from them both.

Dave is nearly 18 years old and began dancing at school at the age of 13 years. Due to serious illness up to the age of 15 his school attendance at Merlyn Rees was poor. He took part in the DAZL Rock Challenge and was inspired to continue with his dancing. An important event for Dave was when the DAZL Project Leader encouraged him to choreograph a section of the DAZL Rock Challenge performance. As well as performing himself, this gave him the opportunity to see his ideas and creativity performed on stage. He received many compliments for this work, which boosted his confidence and made him think more seriously about dance as a future career.

The DAZL Rock Challenge project allowed Dave the opportunity to perform with a group of friends who got together because of the sessions. They entered competitions and performed at The Grand Theatre in Leeds, the Barbican Centre and various Community Centres. DAZL supported this through encouragement and by helping to organise the various performances.

Following DAZL Rock Challenge, Dave successfully completed the DAZL Community Dance Leaders course run by the Project Leader. He now teaches on the DAZL Rock Challenge project and a DAZL community dance class maintaining support from the Project Leader for all his activities. Through his DAZL work Dave met Marie and Sandra and they have formed a dance company together. They have received funding support and business training from Belle Isle Foundation. He is supported with the development of funding applications and receives continued advice on performances and projects. As a dance company they work in schools and are currently planning a number of different projects. Dave has worked at the DAZL summer school in previous years and is currently completing a B.Tech National Diploma in the performing arts at Thomas Danby College. He aspires to a future career as a dance choreographer.

Marie is 21 years old and attended school in Middleton. She, too, had a serious illness that affected her academic career and did not attend school

from the age of 13 onwards. Marie grew up in a family background which was unstable due to factors related to unemployment and drug abuse, which resulted in her being parented by various different members of the family. She was not encouraged to attend school or to have aspirations.

Marie’s interest and ability in dance was first developed at Middleton Park High School. A teacher at school persuaded her to take up dance and helped her get a place at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance on the foundation course. In her final year at the age of 19 she became pregnant and thought that her dancing career was over. However, following the birth of her child the local midwife told her about the DAZL project and she contacted the Project Leader.

Marie successfully completed the DAZL Community Dance Leaders course and began teaching DAZL community dance sessions. The Project Leader continues to advise and support her in her teaching development. Due to her DAZL Rock Challenge involvement and her Northern School of Contemporary Dance training, Marie has started teaching dance as part of the PE curricular activity at Merlyn Rees School. She has now been approached to contribute to dance teaching at another local school.

Marie, Dave and Sandra (another DAZL trainee) work together on their Dance Company performances. All the other days of the week Marie teaches either at Merlyn Rees or at the DAZL community dance classes. Whilst her daughter is young, Marie is happy to work part-time locally, but in the future she would like to go back to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance to finish off her degree. She would then like to pursue a career performing and ultimately to have her own dance school.

Marie is currently supporting a teenage girl from the school who is having family problems and a teenage sister who wants to also have a career in dance.

For both Dave and Marie, DAZL has provided an opening for them to further their dance careers. The DAZL Community Dance Leaders course and the DAZL Rock Challenge project have provided opportunities for them to teach and develop their own dance careers as performers. Both see the expertise and guidance provided by the DAZL Project Leader, as an invaluable support for their own dance. She has provided a positive role model for them in relation to her dance expertise and her approach to her teaching and work life.

The DAZL project is developing sustainability and community ownership through these processes. Through the opportunities opened up by the various DAZL community dance classes, individuals can train to be community dance leaders and, thus, to develop their own careers. As more local Belle Isle people train to teach dance and set up community groups the organisational responsibility for the sessions shifts away from the DAZL Project Leader and back to the people in the community. In this instance the community development model, which aims to empower communities by increasing their involvement in the running of local activities can be seen to be operating within the Belle Isle area.

3.3.4. Raising the Profile of the School within the Belle Isle Community

Parents and other people from the local Belle Isle community attended a performance of DAZL Rock Challenge at Merlyn Rees in the week prior to the competition in Bridlington. As well as being important to the individuals involved, the DAZL Rock Challenge performance was obviously of interest to the local community as over 300 people attended. The DAZL Showcase on the 10th of February was just as well supported and provoked a very enthusiastic response from the audience. Through DAZL activities Merlyn Rees has attracted a large number of local people as a community venue which potentially could raise the school profile in the area.

From the general questionnaires, 69% students said that part of their reason for initially taking part in the DAZL Rock Challenge project was to start to train for a career in dance.

Tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for where you would like to work: ‘yes responses

The DAZL project is aware that the dance profession is highly competitive and has few opportunities. The Project Leader has discussed this with the young people involved in the DAZL Rock Challenge project and has made this clear to those with career aspirations in dance. Careers in dance education or community dance will be encouraged more than giving the expectation of a career as a performer.

A number of students in the focus groups made the comment that they would like to be like the Project Leader or their dance leaders. The Project Leader, in particular, appeared to be a role model for both students and community dance leaders. One Community dance leader made the comment:

The Project Leader, herself, was very conscious that she provided a role model for a number of people involved in the project. Equally one of the community dance leaders was aware that she too provided a role model for some of the young women who took part in DAZL Rock Challenge. She talked about saying to students who wanted to be dancers:

She then went on to say:

This incident indicated that the young people saw this community dance leader as a role model that provided an opportunity for some educational and career related advice.

One of the Co-ordinators, furthermore, commented that the project provided the young men in the school with strong male dancer role models, which he thought was very beneficial for potentially challenging the traditional macho male culture within the school.

As well as providing strong dance related role models, DAZL Rock Challenge provided more tangible forms of support for the young people to use in developing their career. The dance skills the students acquired, which will be discussed in greater detail in the section on learning, could well benefit their career development. After the Rock Challenge Competition at Bridlington students involved received a certificate for their part in the performance. One of the project co-ordinators talked to the groups about how they should look after this certificate as it may well be something that they could ‘talk to’ in an interview for a job or a place at a college.

The inter-connectedness of the DAZL Rock Challenge project offered an opportunity for continuity in dance for the students in after-school activities, or when they leave school. This was because the different local DAZL community groups and the DAZL dance leaders in the community training course, which some of the students were already involved with, provided further opportunities for dance development.

In the second stage of the focus groups and video commentaries, several of the participants spoke about aspirations that came from their involvement in the DAZL Rock Challenge project.

The expectation of being involved in the project next year was something that some of them talked about. One student said

Clearly this student saw DAZL Rock Challenge as a continuous process. Some of the year 7 class spoke about how they thought more people from their year would get involved next year because some of their classmates, although initially ridiculing them (the three year 7 students who had decided to do DAZL Rock Challenge this year), now acknowledged that it was a good thing to be involved in and offered some good opportunities.

Other students talked about aspirations they had for doing further performances of the 2001 DAZL Rock Challenge piece. They talked about how they were looking forward to performing in Millennium Square at the Leeds Breeze festival, and how they might apply to go on the television show, ‘Blue Peter’. Some spoke about aspirations of going to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance or to do a performing arts related qualification. One student said

The DAZL Rock challenge project provided

• strong dance role models;
• career aspirations;
• certification of involvement in a dance project;
• opportunities to link into existing community dance opportunities;
• opportunities to raise the profile of Merlyn Rees.

The project also enabled

• friendships to develop;
• instances of teambuilding among student groups;
• career development opportunities.

It is important to note that the DAZL Rock Challenge project has emerged from local alliances. Numerous local agencies have linked together to tackle contemporary health issues in a co-ordinated fashion. The importance of such partnership work is highlighted in the latest government health policy ‘Saving Lives. Our Healthier Nation’ (Department of Health, 1999). Healthy alliances are central to the two goals of the Government’s public health strategy. The goals are:

• to improve the health of the population as a whole by increasing the length of people’s lives and the number of years people spend free from illness;

gap (DoH, 1999, p 2).

To achieve these health aims, Government policy is setting out a third way between the old extremes of individual victim blaming on the one hand and ‘nanny state’ social engineering on the other (Ham, 1999). The Government maintains that good health is no longer about blame, but about opportunity and responsibility. DAZL Rock Challenge is a project that encourages effective action to provide ‘healthy’ opportunities and promote responsible health actions for young people. Through the vehicle of DAZL Rock Challenge, the local partners highlighted below have worked together to achieve progress in addressing the causes of ill health and reducing health inequalities in the South Leeds area.

As part of the school’s improvement plan, recently, Merlyn Rees has been boosted through its designation as a CAPE school (Creative Arts Partnership in Education). Merlyn Rees has been able to use funding from CAPE towards supporting DAZL Rock Challenge over the last year. The philosophy underpinning CAPE is to develop creative learning experiences for students, with an aim of working towards a creative, flexible approach to life and learning. This philosophy fits with the four main areas for improvement identified in the mission statement of Merlyn Rees School. A key focus for both CAPE and DAZL Rock Challenge is the idea that increased self esteem from performing creates a better culture in the school and supports students to develop life skills. At Merlyn Rees, raising self-esteem is a huge part of the school culture. This ‘whole school’ approach towards improving self esteem is advocated by educationalists as an effective means of improving positive behaviour of students (Chan 1997).

4.1.2. The Local Health Authority via South Leeds Primary Care Group

This partnership has provided Smoking Cessation funding for the DAZL Rock Challenge project at Merlyn Rees Community High School. The funding aims are to support professionals and organisations working with young people in raising awareness of issues about smoking, and to maintain anti-smoking agendas for all.

To address this remit, a Health Promotion Specialist from Leeds Health Promotion Unit has been working with DAZL and the DAZL Rock Challenge team throughout the project.

This involvement with the DAZL Rock Challenge project has enabled the delivery of numerous training sessions with the dance project workers about smoking and young people. This form of health promotion is termed an educational approach, where the aim is to provide individuals with knowledge and understanding enabling well-informed decisions to be made and acted upon (Ewles and Simnett, 1999). This health promotion has provided the DAZL Rock Challenge team with important resources to enable them to meet a core aim of Rock Challenge, that is for young people to be/do their best without the need for tobacco (Rock Challenge, 2000). These resources and activities are central in supporting the strict non-smoking requirements for all participants in the Rock Challenge competition.

Belle Isle Foundation is funded by the National Lottery and the Neighbourhood Support Fund. The principle remit of the foundation is ‘capacity building’, which involves helping people from the local community to access training, education and community activities which will assist them in gaining paid employment. The Belle Isle Foundation supports DAZL in a number of ways, including the substantive support provided by the foundation in the form of provision of administrative and publicity services, and training opportunities.

The DAZL showcase was a forum for communicating the different aspects of the DAZL project to the local community and bodies funding the project. It took place at Merlyn Rees Community High School on 10th February 2001. This day acted as a platform for corroborative work between local agencies and partners to take place. The event was held in the main school hall and involved performances from all the different DAZL projects throughout the

day. Apart from DAZL Rock Challenge, a dance company formed by local young people who had gained the ‘Dance Leaders in the Community’ award performed twice. There was a demonstration by three local black, male, break dancers with an invitation for young men from the area to sign up for a new DAZL ‘lads break dance’ group. In addition there were performances from the entire community dance groups set up by DAZL (refer to appendix II for a full programme of events). In line with DAZL’s philosophy of inclusion, awards were presented to all the different DAZL groups celebrating their unique contributions to the day.

The event was a great success with over 500 people from the local community involved in the showcase either as performers or as members of the audience. The Co-ordinator of the Belle Isle Foundation commented that:

The audience at the showcase included parents, relatives and friends of the 170 people performing from the different DAZL dance groups. The event had clearly brought together a large number of people from the local community and was very much a celebration of the success and impact of the DAZL project in the Belle Isle area.

A variety of local organisations were invited to the showcase to provide an information stand for people attending the day to visit. These stands were located in the gym along with the catering facilities. This was to encourage people to freely wander about, look at the different displays, ask questions and sign up for different activities. The majority of organisations displaying information gave very positive feedback about the interest shown in their displays by the local community. For instance, twenty people signed up to take part in Army Cadet activities. Several of the stands from local colleges reported an excellent level of interest in their part-time and full-time educational courses. The Belle Isle Foundation information stand was particularly successful in their use of a digital camera to take photographs of the DAZL showcase performances.

Images from the DAZL Showcase held at Merlyn Rees (click on the small images to see enlargement):

a) Local people visiting display stands at the showcase.

As an opportunity to work in partnership with other organisations, the DAZL showcase was a successful event, bringing together a range of different organisations who have interest in development and regeneration work in disadvantaged areas such as Belle Isle.

DAZL Rock Challenge has successfully met the HAZ aims that it initially set out with. These were to:

• improve the health of young women;
• reduce health inequalities for young women;
• improve young women’s access to exercise and health information;
• improve young women’s mental and physical well being.

The young people who took part in this years dance project clearly felt that they were physically healthier and had an increased sense of mental and social well being because of their involvement in DAZL Rock Challenge.

Many health promoters argue that the notion of empowerment is fundamental to the process of health promotion (Naidoo and Wills, 2000). Empowerment is difficult to define and has been used to mean different things. However, in general it is agreed that empowerment is about enabling others to take charge of their lives and destiny, and to feel in control of their circumstances (Tones and Tilford, 1994). DAZL Rock Challenge has empowered these students by providing them with increased access to physical activity in a form that they both enjoyed and felt comfortable being involved with. Furthermore, health information, not just about smoking, but also about diet and other aspects of life have been made available to the young women and men in the group. Through acquiring information and decision-making skills in relation to holistic health issues, this health education has played an important role in the mainstay of these students’ health improvement.

If people are to feel empowered and be more able to make changes in their lives, they need to be supported by the people around them (DoH, 1999). Communities influence such change. The young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge felt further empowered because they have become more aware of the opportunities available for them to continue dance through the network of DAZL community classes in the local area. Both the DAZL Rock Challenge project and the DAZL community classes provide opportunities to increase the frequency of physical activity. Through these activities students have also learnt about healthier ways of living which ultimately contributes to the reduction of the health inequalities that young people in this community experience.

DAZL has played a major role in community development within this disadvantaged area of Leeds. Community development is a philosophy and a method of health promotion where communities define their own health needs and decide on a strategy for change (Naidoo and Wills, 2000). DAZL has acted as a facilitator of this process not only at Merlyn Rees school but also within the area of South Leeds.

5.2. Raising the profile of dance and PE

Girls’ participation in PE in schools remains a ‘matter of intense public interest and concern’ (Institute of Youth Sport, Loughborough University, 2000 p2) as many young women are not seen to be actively and positively engaging in PE. At Merlyn Rees, DAZL Rock Challenge has, through dance, put PE back on the agenda for some young women who were previously failing to engage with more traditional PE activities. Merlyn Rees teachers reported increased interest and increased enthusiasm for dance in PE, which they attributed to the DAZL Rock Challenge project.

The young women involved in this project identified with the style of dance being used in DAZL Rock Challenge whilst many of them said they did not like the activities they had to do in PE. For many of the young women in DAZL Rock Challenge, team sports and the activities included in the PE National Curriculum, appear to have little relevance to their preferred lifestyles. If DAZL Rock Challenge could be located within PE, as well as within art at Merlyn Rees, it could well provide an opportunity for attracting more young women back to PE and physical activity in the school.

In this way DAZL Rock Challenge has further potential for developing access to physical activity and reducing health inequalities for young women in particular.

DAZL has been highly successful at developing a network of community dance sessions, of training local people, empowering them and supporting them in taking ownership of the sessions. It is possible to see that in a few years time the dance groups in the Belle Isle area could well be completely community based, without the need for external community development workers. This method of maintaining ‘sustainable environments’ is central to the governments recommendations for improving the health of the nation (DoH, 1999).

DAZL has addressed many different aspects of health, through its commitment to community development, which has been identified as:

• a commitment to equality and the breaking down of hierarchies and power relationships;
• an emphasis on participation;
• giving voice to those within the community;
• an emphasis on lay knowledge and the valuing of people’s own experiences;
• the collectivising of experience and seeing problems as shared;
• the empowerment of individuals and communities through education, skills development and sharing, and joint action.(adapted from Naidoo and Wills, 2000)

Further evaluation of the practices, which have made DAZL’s work so effective in the local community, may provide information on good practice that could be of use to other community workers.

As discussed in this report, DAZL’s work has involved a considerable amount of co-operation between different partnerships, for instance, HAZ, Merlyn Rees, and the Belle Isle Foundation. Where many health partnership arrangements fail (Tones and Tilford,1994), this one has been successful. Further evaluation of the processes that have made this partnership work may also provide useful information for future practice.

Overall, DAZL has been successful in meeting its aims. In addition, it has clearly provided a memorable activity with numerous health benefits for many of the students involved.

• Where possible involve participating students at all levels of the decision making process about the theme of the dance and the process of getting to the final performance;
• Involve the students in the design of the project through the use of a suggestion box in which they can post their ideas about the theme, costume, and music etc;
• Develop a mentoring system whereby students that have participated in DAZL Rock Challenge work with ‘new’ students the following year;
• Through the philosophy of a ‘whole school approach’, fully integrate DAZL Rock Challenge at Merlyn Rees. This could include;

- incorporating DAZL Rock Challenge into behavioural strategies;

- incorporating DAZL Rock Challenge into pastoral time;

• Develop strategies through DAZL to encourage the local community to take part in identifying their health problems. The notion of empowerment is central to this process of strengthening community action that in turn addresses health inequalities.

• Build upon the ‘healthy’ partnerships that have developed in the local community in order to promote further alliances both locally, city wide and nationally;
• Continue to fund DAZL in this and other disadvantaged areas of Leeds to address health inequalities;
• Further evaluation of the processes and practices of other community dance initiatives.

• To explore the impact of DAZL Rock Challenge on the health of the families of students who participated;
• To explore gender issues of dance related activities;
• To document career paths, through longitudinal studies, of young people at Merlyn Rees school to ascertain the impact of DAZL related activities;
• To undertake a follow up of the health activities of the students to see if their behaviour changes towards health are maintained or if they regress after DAZL Rock Challenge.

---

Baggott R (2000) Health and Health Care in Britain, London, Macmillan Press Ltd

Chan, D (1997) Understanding and Managing Student Problem Behaviours in Schools: An Integrated Approach, Educational Journal, Vol 24, 2, p22-33

Department of Health (DoH) (1999) Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, London, HMSO

Ewles, L and Simnett, I (1999) Promoting Health, London, Balliere Tindall Publishing

Ham, C (1999) Health Policy in Britain: Public Policy and Politics, London, Macmillan Press Ltd

Institute of Youth Sport (2000) Towards Girl-Friendly Physical Education: the Nike/YST girls in sport partnership project final report, Loughborough, Loughborough University

Mann, P. (2000) The Rock Challenge 2000, celebrating 21 years, Winchester, Be Your Best Foundation.

Naidoo, J and Wills, J (2000) Health Promotion: Foundations for Practice, London, Balliere Tindall Publishing

Tones, K and Tilford, S (1994) Health Education: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Equity London, Chapman and Hall

WHO (1946) Preamble of the Constitution of the World Health Organisation, Geneva, WHO

WHO (1986) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, Geneva, WHO

Interview data - confidentiality reassurance

1) Can you tell me about your involvement in dance?

How long have you been teaching dancing for?

How did you get into dance originally?

2) What is your involvement with DAZL Rock Challenge?

How long have you been involved?

3) What is your understanding of the aims of DAZL Rock Challenge?

Can you tell me what being healthy means to you?

What is your understanding of the health benefits of dance for young people?

6) Can you tell me whether you use the term health when communicating with young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge?

- If so what kind of information do you communicate?

What is your perception of the effects of DAZL Rock Challenge on the young people’s physical health?

How, in what ways

What is your perception of the effects of DAZL Rock Challenge on the young people’s mental health? What aspects, How does it help?

9) What is your perception of the social benefits of DAZL Rock Challenge and how do you think this impacts on the young people’s health?

Relationships – family peers

Life choices

In general do you think that the young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge take enough physical activity to benefit their health?

Are there any issues that you think prevent young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge from being (more) physically active?

12) Are you seeing changes in the young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge during and after the sessions?

What sort of changes? (behaviour, fitness, relaxation?)

13) Are there differences between women and men?

14) Do you feel to be developing a relationship with the young people through the dance sessions?

In what way?

15) What are the most difficult issues you are faced with when running DAZL Rock Challenge/sessions?

16) To summarise what do you think are the most important things DAZL Rock Challenge offers the young people involved?

17) Is there any way in which you think the programme could be improved?

18) Is there anything you thought that I’d ask that I haven’t asked?

19) Is there anything you would like to ask me?

Thankyou

2. Dance history interview

DAZL Rock challenge dance leaders

Confidentiality – reassurance

When did you first get into dance?

So how old were you then?

Where was it, the place that you first did dance?

What made you decide you wanted to try dancing?

Tell me about how you got from there to being a dance leader now?

Who were the key people who encouraged you (friends, midwife?)

Where did you train?

The most important things that have happened to you during your dance career?

Did your parents/family support you in taking up dance?

Is there one thing/event/person that you can identify as being absolutely crucial to the development of your dance career so far – if you’d not met that person, or that certain thing hadn’t happened, you know you wouldn’t have got to where you are now – Can you tell me more about…………..?

How much time per week do you spend involved with dance (Your own teaching…)

Do you have any family commitments you have to manage to be able to be involved to this extent?

Are there any problems you have had to overcome to keep dancing?

Was dance something you knew you were good at from the beginning?

What is it that you enjoy about dancing?

How do you feel when you are dancing?

Does dancing make you feel good about yourself – in what way?

What sorts of dance do you do?

What sort do you like best?

Is there anything you don’t like about dancing?

Do you think dance makes you healthier as a person – how? (fitter, more flexible, more agile, more stamina…)

Has dancing given you new social contacts- who, what areas?

What made you decide you wanted to start teaching dance?

How does teaching dance make you feel about yourself – different to when you were purely dancing?

What would you say your style of teaching was?

Do you have more than one style? – Can you describe it/them?

What decides the style of teaching you use?

Do you have a DAZL Rock Challenge style of teaching, is that different to your other teaching – in what way, why?

What are the most important things to you about teaching dance?

What do you enjoy about teaching dance?

Is there anything you don’t like about teaching dance?

Do you have any future plans for continuing teaching dance? Where, to whom?

You are part of a dance company with Z/Y?

What does this involve, what is your part in the company,

Do you do performances? When, where, who to?

What plans have you got for the company in the future?

What about your own dancing, have you got any more plans for the future there?

What would you like to see yourself doing in 5 years time?

What would about 10 years time – any ideas?

If you project right into the future and you are telling your grandchildren about your life as a dancer, what are the things you would like to be able to tell them about?

What is your role at the Belle Isle Foundation?

What is your overall remit?

How long have you worked here?

What are your main responsibilities?

What is your involvement with the DAZL Rock Challenge project/DAZL project?

How many different parts are there to the overall DAZL project which are operating in the local community?

How does the DAZL/DAZL Rock Challenge project fit into your overall remit?

What particular aspects of community regeneration does the DAZL/DAZL Rock Challenge project assist with? Social/Economic/environmental (?)

Can you give me more information about how that works?

What do you think are the main things then that DAZL offers the local community?

Is there anything you would like to see changed or developed further within the DAZL projects?

How many other community development projects do you have operating from the Belle Isle Foundation?

What are the other projects operating?

Is the DAZL project the largest one - where does it fit in the scale of things?

Are you able to tell me about how the DAZL project is funded?

What do you think are the main benefits/selling points of the DAZL/DAZL Rock Challenge project, which can be used to attract further funding for the project in the future?

Is there anything you thought I would ask you that I haven’t?

Is there anything else you want to tell me about the DAZL projects/DAZL Rock Challenge?

Thanks.

We are doing some research for X who runs the DAZL Rock Challenge event at Merlyn Rees School We want to ask parents of the young people involved in DAZL Rock Challenge what they think of the project. Do you have a few minutes to spare to answer a few questions?

Is it your son or your daughter who is involved in DAZL Rock Challenge?

How old are they?

Is this their first time doing DAZL Rock Challenge?

Do you think DAZL Rock Challenge is a good thing? why/why not?

Is there anything to do with DAZL Rock Challenge you think is a problem?

Do you think being part of DAZL Rock Challenge has brought about any changes for your daughter/son? In what way?

Would you be happy for them to do DAZL Rock Challenge again next year if they can?

Will you be able to got to the Bridlington Rock Challenge Finals to watch them perform?

Thanks for your time.

Write your name here if you want to ………………………………………………

How old are you? …………….

Why did you want to take part in DAZL Rock Challenge? Please tick ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the reasons given below:

Write below any other reasons you have for wanting to be in DAZL Rock Challenge

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Please write here other reasons why you like being part of DAZL Rock Challenge

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If yes – which sports

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If no - why don’t you like sport …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

How would you change this if you could?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Does being part of DAZL Rock Challenge make you feel healthier?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Write here what job you would like to have most of all when you leave school

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Thank you for your help

What do you like most about being part of DAZL Rock Challenge?

How did you hear about DAZL Rock Challenge in the first place?

What made you decide to get involved? (friends, family, X.... others)

Are your family interested in your part in DAZL Rock Challenge?

If not why not

Will they come and watch you perform somewhere?

Do you think doing DAZL Rock Challenge has made you healthier (stronger, more flexible, more stamina?.....)

Has DAZL Rock Challenge made you think about stopping smoking.... how?

Has DAZL Rock Challenge made you think about stop smoking.... how?

Has DAZL Rock Challenge made you feel good about your decision to stop smoking?

Has DAZL Rock Challenge made you feel more confident about yourself... in what way?

Have you made new friends through DAZL Rock Challenge - who are they - students at Merlyn Rees?

Is there anything about DAZL Rock Challenge that you do not like?

How would you change it?

Do you plant to keep on doing dance and dance training when DAZL Rock Challenge finishes?

Where will you do it?

Do you need more information about other dance classes that you could go to in the area?

Has DAZL Rock Challenge made you want to be a dancer when you finish school? What kind of dancer?

What has been the best thing for you about doing DAZL Rock Challenge this year?

whys that?

What has been the worst thing about doing DAZL Rock Challenge?

whys that?

Do you feel different about yourself because you have done DAZL Rock Challenge this year?

how?

Why?

Do you think your behaviour is different now to how it was before you did DAZL Rock Challenge?

hows it different?

why do you think that is?

Do you think you are healthier because you did DAZL Rock Challenge?

in what way?

Do you think DAZL Rock Challenge has given you something you will use in the future?

what?

so how will you use that?

What do you think you will you remember about DAZL Rock Challenge when you think back on it when you are older?

Is there anything you would change about DAZL Rock Challenge if you could do?

what?

how?

Is there anything else you would like to say about DAZL Rock Challenge?

8. First Stage Student Video Commentaries

My name is .............................

I decided to do DAZL Rock Challenge because........................

I’m different now to when I started DAZL Rock Challenge because .................

I like DAZL Rock Challenge because...........

I like dancing because ....................

Second Stage Student Video Commentaries

My name is ...............................................

The best thing about doing DAZL Rock Challenge this year has been...........................

If I could, the thing(s) I would change about DAZL Rock Challenge would be ..................................

I would change these things by...................................

The things I will remember best about doing DAZL Rock Challenge will be ...........................................

DAZL Rock Challenge has made me different to how I was before I started it because before I was..............................

and now I am.............................................

I will/will not do DAZL Rock Challenge again because..............

Appendix II

DAZL 16/25

Merlyn Rees Youth Dance Company

Escape

Break Dance

Dance Zone

DanceXpress

Skinny Dipping

Hunslet Youth Dance Company

Manorfield Hall-Mixed Spice

Organisations represented at the DAZL Showcase were:

The Belle Isle Foundation

Belle Isle On-Line Project

Work & Learning Club Training

Park Lane College

Leeds South Primary Care Group

Rathbone

Leeds Metropolitan University

Air Cadets – the next generation

Belle Isle Family Centre

Hunslet and Middleton Community Involvement Team (CIT)

Northern College