Safe to Be Me®
We’re proud to be delivering Safe to Be Me® to young people across Scotland.
This innovative programme uses dance and film to introduce topics such as racism, homophobia, ableism, and transphobia. Delivered in line with key Scottish Government targets to address these areas, the project engages with young people to explore themes that include identity, respect, acceptance, family diversity, and LGBTQ+ communities.
Since 2018, Safe to Be Me® has reached over 14,000 young people. In 2021, we had our Safe to Be Me® Festival; a digital platform engaging over 2000 young people through live workshops, inspiring talks from dance professionals, film projects and a poetry challenge – all addressing the core Safe to Be Me® themes. We also commissioned the powerful Shimmering Extraordinary series of films created by Emmy nominated director FX Goby.
To find out more about how your school can be involved in the programme, please contact safetobeme@scottishballet.co.uk.
#SafetoBeMe
Selkie
Inspired by poet Rachel Plummer’s Selkie, this dance film responds to the poem’s themes of gender and identity, and explores transformation and acceptance.
The Shimmering Extraordinary
These films, created by Emmy Award-nominated director Fx Goby, are a collaboration between Scottish Ballet and Nexus Studios.
Commissioned as part of our Safe to Be Me™ Festival 2021, the films are inspired by the programme’s themes of acceptance, identity, and respect.
Young People
As part of our Safe to Be Me® Festival 2021, young people created original dance and music films responding to the themes of ‘Safe to Be Me’.
Safe To Be Me® in schools
The school strand of Safe to Be Me® explores the core themes of the programme and and supports pupils to be safe and confident in who they are.
We learned about how people can be different and nobody is the same, and it’s okay to be different.
Primary 6 pupil
Primary Schools
The primary school strand of Safe to Be Me® explores the core themes through performance and a full-day dance workshop.
The day begins with a performance specially choreographed by Scottish Ballet’s Engagement team. Working with Scotland’s most experienced dance practitioners, the pupils then take part in creative dance tasks exploring identity, respect, allyship, family diversity, and LGBTQ+ communities, to create their own Safe to Be Me® performance and support them to be safe and confident in who they are. In addition to the main Safe to Be Me® workshop, we have several shorter workshops one focuses on Family Diversity and another on Empathy & Allyship.
After an initial pilot project in Glasgow and Perth in 2018, Safe to Be Me® has toured to Highland schools in Fort William, Inverness, and Aviemore and to schools in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, East Renfrewshire, Stirling and Inverclyde. The response to the project has been exceptional and the Safe to Be Me® team has reached over 14,000 young people across Scotland.
Secondary Schools
Scottish Ballet is running a pilot Safe to Be Me® Secondary School programme with Perth Academy.
This Scottish Ballet initiative is aligned with the targets set by the Scottish Government to address issues of racism, homophobia, ableism, and transphobia. Safe to Be Me® uses dance to delve into themes of identity, acceptance, respect, creative movement skills, and self-expression.
Under the guidance of experienced dance practitioners, young participants from Perth Academy engage in a creative exploration of topics such as culture and ethnicity, family composition, LGBTQ+ identities, and disability. The project aims to foster a sense of safety and confidence among these individuals, allowing them to embrace and celebrate their true selves, and to challenge prejudice and discrimination
Scottish Ballet is committed to the ongoing development of the Safe to Be Me® project in collaboration with Perth Academy. Our intention is to provide a nurturing space where young people can authentically express themselves, while promoting a culture of inclusivity and acceptance.
