Clifftop Intergenerational Dance Company

Clifftop Projects exists to bring high quality artistic activity to people across West Dunbartonshire. They specialise in working with a wide age range of participants in dance, visual arts and other art forms believing that creativity has no age limit! This Intergenerational Dance Company is one of these projects.  

• Threshold  

Choreographers: Lottie Barker and Lesley Howard
Dancers: Isabelle, Nina, Finn, Kathryn, Tibbs, Leah, Isla

Threshold explores themes of the past, present and future in our own lives asking the dancers to think about what different doors might open or close. The dancers were involved in creating the work alongside choreographers Lottie and Lesley. 

Glasgow, City of Poets

Glasgow, City of Poets was established in 2022. Membership is free. Currently the 90+ members access a range of activities for learning, promotion, and payment.  All these activities can lead to physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual resilience and enjoyment. 

As part of Healing Arts Scotland, City of Poets is bringing the fun of Word Salads to the public. During the daytime, on August 21, visitors to events at Tramway can suggest random words and work with poets to create five short poems celebrating the five HAS themes, to be presented at the concert. The themes focus on how the arts support and inspire people experiencing any of the following: 

• Loneliness and isolation 
• Youth mental health concerns 
• Dementia 
• Confinement’s impact on creativity and wellbeing 
• NHS social prescribing – engaging with the arts to support patients’ health and wellbeing, including their mental health  

These five poems will be presented, one or two at a time, throughout the performance.

Scottish Opera’s Breath Cycle

Scottish Opera’s ground-breaking online programme, Breath Cycle, was formed with the Respiratory and Cystic Fibrosis Medicine team at NHS Glasgow. Designed to benefit those living with conditions affecting lung health, including Long Covid, free resources introduce participants to vocal exercises and breathing techniques. The response is overwhelmingly positive, with participants citing improvement in breathing, energy levels and mood.  

• A Week without Voice 
• Out in all Weathers  

Lyrics: Martin O’Conner
Music: Gareth Williams

Performers: David Douglas (singer), Karen MacIver (piano), Teréz Korondi (violin), Sarah Harrington (cello)

Both songs arose from the lived experiences of participants in the songwriting programme.

The Covid Composer’s Songbook, a selection of songs written by Breath Cycle participants, has been recorded for anyone to use, sing along and contribute to. Visit Scottish Opera’s website to download the full collection. Songs from this songbook will be performed at the concert. 

Supported by The Scottish Government, Cruach Trust, The Murdoch Forrest Charitable Trust, W M Mann Foundation, Souter Charitable Trust and Scottish Opera’s Education Angels. 

Nemo Arts' Guitar Group

Nemo Arts believes in the transformative power of creativity to improve mental health and wellbeing. Our organisation provides a variety of free artistic programmes—including drama, choir, Taiko drumming, creative writing, and visual arts—designed to support adults facing mental health challenges. Located in the heart of Glasgow, with our inclusive and supportive approach, we create a nurturing environment where everyone can explore their creativity, build confidence, and connect with others.
 

Nemo Art’s Guitar Group, led by Finn LeMarinel 

Class participants [not all performing]:   Alan, Andy, Annemarie, Brian, Craig, Dana, Debbie, George, Gerald, Graham, Hama, Heather, Jak, James, Jane, John, Katy, Lee, Linda, Maria, Michelle, Paul, Peter, Rebecca, Ross, Sarah, Scott, Sean, Soso, Tony and William. 

Maryhill Integration Network’s Joyous Choir

Human Rights ● Wellbeing ● Creativity  

Maryhill Integration Network (MIN) is a grassroots community organisation based in Glasgow, established to people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants and the settled inhabitants of the city together. Since 2001, MIN has been developing projects which support positive social change by investing in communities and providing a welcoming and safe space with opportunities for collaboration and connection. 

Since 2013, MIN’s Joyous Choir has used singing to support social inclusion, and improve wellbeing, in a welcoming and creative space. The choir welcomes participants from diverse backgrounds including women who are seeking asylum and refuge in Glasgow, as well as those born and raised in the city. The group shares songs from different cultures, and often sing about themes such as friendship, protest, sisterhood, dreams, freedom and hope. 

Names of pieces and performers to follow. 

Indepen-dance Young 1'z

Young 1’z is Indepen-dance’s Inclusive Youth Dance Company for young disabled people. The company meets weekly throughout the year and create new work annually which is performed at a variety of community events such as Go Dance, Destinations and the Solas Festival. 

• Turn-Styles

Choreography : George Adams
Rehearsal Directors: Katie Miller & Wils McAslan
Costumes: Claire Reda
Music: The Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky- Korsakov, Dancing on my own by Vitamin String Quartet, Rura 

Dancers: Dominic Hemphill-Whyte, Holly Hunter, Dylan Lombard, Grace Moultrie, Kirsten Seymour, Iona Taylor, Bella Van Velson, Emily Green, Cameron Flavell, Andrew Laycock, Graham Hughes, Rosie O’Neil, Zac McMillan, Leah Wilson, Dillon Shaw

Turn-Styles is a collaborative contemporary dance piece drawing inspiration from games and our relationship to the roles we play within these. The dancers worked with choreographer George Adams using playful tasks, improvisation, contact work and patterning.     

NB: No balloons are intentionally burst during Turn-Styles, but if you’re worried about this you can join the second half after this dance.

Govanhill United Chamber Orchestra

Govanhill United Chamber Orchestra is drawn from our eldest participants at Big Noise Govanhill, and includes players from our very first cohort of young musicians who took up their instruments at Big Noise in July 2013.

Big Noise, delivered by the charity Sistema Scotland, is a high-quality music education and social change programme that works intensively with children, young people and families in targeted communities.

Big Noise uses the symphony orchestra as a community through which children gain an invaluable range of life skills and experiences. They develop confidence, teamwork, resilience, pride and aspiration as well as the capacity to work hard, supporting them to reach their potential and lead successful and fulfilled lives.

Sistema Scotland works with over 3,500 children and young people each week through six Big Noise programmes across Scotland, including Big Noise Govanhill which was launched in 2013. 

• At the Purchasers Option, by Rhiannon Giddens
• The Dark Island, by Iain McLachlan
• Concerto for two violins in D minor – first movement, by JS Bach

Soloists: Aarush Bakshi and Harine Uthayakumar

Conductor: Jessica Kerr

Violin: Aarush Bakshi (leader), Harine Uthayakumar, Chloe Neale, Benny Walsh, Iliana Hughes

Viola: Hannah Doherty, Aiden MacDonald, Mehek Rahman, Alex Laffey

Cello: Maja Podwijka, Antoni Winiarski

Bass: Anna O’Brien, Erin Nixon, Cleoné McGuire

Scottish Ballet Youth Exchange

Scottish Ballet Youth Exchange is for dancers aged 14 -24, based in Scotland, and preparing for a career in dance. The programme is designed to develops  technical and creative skills through contemporary dance and ballet as well as developing  entrepreneurial and leadership skills, supported by Scottish Ballet’s staff and dancers.  In June 2024, the Youth Exchange travelled to New York to work with young dancers, from MOVE NYC.  The Youth Exchange will perform at the opening ceremony of Healing Arts Scotland, at the Scottish Parliament on August 19. 

• Collection 

Choreographer: Sara Kemal
Music: Sweetapple Lane by Lia T; Ghost Warrior and Circular Translation by Christopher Zurfluh 

Dancers: Tamsin Ahmad Hambling, Paul Barrett, Elsa Cloutier, Roisin Gallagher, Devon Martirez y McFarland, Amy Mcgreish, Nico Pereira Da Silva, Emmy Phillips, Neve Renwick and Josie Sellwood 

Finale

After their dance, members of the Youth Exchange, and Taylor, will invite everyone who’d like (performers and audience members) to learn some of the movements created especially to celebrate Healing Arts Scotland.