The Dance and Coding workshop served as a great way of introducing beneficiaries to a highly useful digital skill by utilising the universal medium of movement.

The Dance and Coding workshop was devised and delivered by two brilliant organisations: digital dance company, Pell Ensemble and technology in education company, U Can Too.

The workshop took place over the course of a single working day. During the morning, participants were given an introduction to the fundamental principles of programming before moving on to create simple circuits using LED lights, distance sensors and small programmable circuit boards called microcontrollers.

A black and white image of two women working together. The woman in the foreground on the left hand side, is sitting cross legged on the floor and looks behind her at the woman in the background. The woman in the foreground is wearing a white t-shirt and tracksuit trousers, and has a laptop and some wires in front of her. The woman in the background squats behind the lady in the foreground. She is wearing a black tank top and black shorts. She is writing onto a small card on the floor. There is a green, curved, abstract shape behind the image.

A black and white photo of two women dancing. The woman in the foreground on the right is out of focus and leans across with their right hand to the left side of the image. The woman in the background on the left is in focus and reaches with their right hand, palm up towards the camera. Behind the woman in the background is an orange blob.

Using an introductory programming language called Scratch, learners were then able to instruct the light to turn on and off in response to input detected by distance sensors.

By the afternoon, participants were able to combine the technology, the coding skills, and a choreographed dance routine to create a fully-fledged performance complete with interactive light display.

This workshop was one of several digital up-skilling workshops run by PONToon partner, Eastleigh Borough Council.

A black and white image of a woman wearing a black tank top and grey trousers sitting on the floor, leaning over some wires and a laptop. This image is sitting on a blue, abstract, curved shape.