An Olympian UCAN Perform Festival

UCAN Productions held their annual UCAN Perform Festival, kindly hosted by the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday 17 July 2012.

Over 100 people attended with children travelling from all over Wales to be a part of the Festival and over 20 volunteers came along to help.  You will see from some of the photos below the children and young people enjoying themselves in some of the workshops the UCAN Trainers ran throughout the day, there was Drama and Percussion, Jewellery making, Ukulele and a Circus workshop. Paddy The Clown put on a wonderful, funny performance over lunch on the Glanfa Stage for all to enjoy.

The centre piece of this year’s Festival however was the Breaking the Wall performance which was held in the Weston Studio.  This was a culmination of an extraordinary Cultural Olympiad Journey2009 when UCAN Productions Junior Chairman, Lloyd Coleman, who was 17 years old at the time, was asked to write a large-scale orchestral work in celebration of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The resulting work, Breaking the Wall, was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in March 2012.

Using this inspirational score and narrative, UCAN Productions, under the direction of Artistic Director Bernard Latham, has created a dramatic representation of the story of Pheidippides, which was performed by highly talented blind and partially sighted young people from across Wales.

Lloyd has been the Junior Chairman of UCAN Productions since its launch in 2005 and is currently studying composition at the Royal Academy of Music.    As a young man who has both visual and hearing impairments, Lloyd continues to inspire us all.

Breaking the Wall is part of the ‘Whose Flame is it Anyway?’, a project led by Disability Arts Cymru, which is part of Power of the Flame, a distinctive and unique contribution from Wales to the Cultural Olympiad, led by the Arts Council of Wales.

Thanks go to our funders for helping us hold the UCAN Festival:

Reach The Heights, European Social Fund, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Wales, Legal & General and The Legacy Trust Lottery

UCAN Perform Festival 2012

Performance Festival for Visually Impaired Young People and their Friends

Date:  Tuesday 17 July 2012

Venue:  Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay

Time:  11.00am – 4.00pm

Come and join us at The Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay for a day of fun, learn new skills, and make new friends.

The centre piece for this year’s Festival is UCAN’s contribution to the Cultural Olympiad.  Lloyd Coleman’s inspired project ‘Breaking the Wall’ which will be performed at 1.00pm in the Weston Studio.  For Free tickets please contact the UCAN office on 029 2087 0554 or email info@ucanproductions.org

WORKSHOPS

Drama

Ukulele

Percussion

Circus Skills

Jewellery Making

UCAN Members will be performing to the public on the Glanfa Stage in the afternoon between 3pm and 4pm.

Places are limited and allocation of places will be on a first served basis.

For further information contact Enireth Powell-Davies enireth@ucanproductions.org or call our office on  029 2087 0554.

Anyone under the age of 18 must complete a parental consent form.

We look forward to hearing from you!

With special thanks to UCAN Productions’ funders:-

Reach The Heights

Disability Arts Cymru

Legacy Trust Lottery Funded

Power of the Flame Project

Arts Council of Wales

Welsh Government

European Social Fund

UCAN Productions Launch ‘Maggie’s Club’

In honour of the wonderful Dr Maggie Woodhouse, UCAN Productions has collaborated with The School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University to set up a new venture called ‘Maggie’s Club’ which launched on Saturday 23 June 2012, the first in a series of workshops.  Some of Maggie’s wonderful patients with special needs who attend the Special Assessment Clinic from all over the country came along with their families and carers.  UCAN Productions ran Fun workshops for all the children focusing on making friends, drama, percussion, circus skills, songs and games.  A great deal of hidden talent came to the fore, and we even managed to stage a short production on a ‘jungle’ theme at the end of the session.

Special thanks go to our funders: Reach The Heights, Welsh Government, Arts Council of Wales, European Social Fund.

Everyone had such fun, just look at some of the pictures below:-

Jane Latham Awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship

UCAN Productions Co-founder and Development Director Jane Latham has been awarded a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship.   This Fellowship means that Jane can travel to the USA and research organisations that support blind and partially sighted young people.  Jane, who is planning her trip in September 2012 is very much hoping that she will be able to build links between UCAN members and young people in America.  Over 1000 people applied and only just over 100 were awarded a travel bursary so as you can imagine Jane is over the moon!  Anyone over the age of 18 can apply for a fellowship for more information http://www.wcmt.org.uk/

Lorna Carries The Flame

Everyone in UCAN Productions is very proud of Lorna.

Lorna was born with a visual impairment; she is a strong determined young lady who wants to prove that her disability will not stop her doing what she put her mind to. Despite going through operations and is due to have another shortly, this doesn’t stop her or worry her she just gets on with life as she says it. Lorna began Karate when she was 7, and by the time she was 13 she won her 1st Dan black belt, this she did on her own merits without any special treatment. This year Lorna won 1st for fighting, 2nd for Kata and 3rd in her team Kata, out of North and South Wales Also raised money through sponsored runs for charity. Represents her school so often now that I have lost count, her PE teacher now doesn’t ask Lorna if she wants to be on team her name is automatically put on it, they know that she will do them proud, last year she won a silver medal in gymnastics for the school despite never having any pervious lessons. Lorna is also a member of UCAN productions for visually impaired children were she encouraged other younger cast members who are blind or partially sighted.  I feel that due to her disability Lorna always finds a way to get the best out of life and is very inspirational to many others within her sport and those she comes into contact with, this making Lorna a worthwhile person to carry the Olympic Torch”

See the full article below:

http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/torchbearers/torchbearers=lorna-price-311/