Factory
Dance Academy
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Factory
Dance Academy
FDA is part of Community Interest Company Loud Arts, set up
in 2007 by Gary and Anna Melling, Gary and Anna wanted to
share music, dance and media on a community level and make it
accessible to all.
Having gone from strength to
strength delivering accessible, low
cost dance, training and volunteering,
FDA found themselves excelling on
the competitive dance scene. In 2014,
FDA reached staggering ‘thoughtput’
figures of 80,000 in a 12-month period
and were delivering across the region
in schools and community centres as
well as their own dance studio in Blyth,
Northumberland.
Specialising in urban styles such
as Street Cheer, Commercial and Hip
Hop, FDA reached the dizzy heights of
competing and securing national and
44 Issue 14
European titles within competitive Street
Cheer. Supported by Children in Need,
Sport England and Active Newcastle,
FDA has gone back to their roots to focus
on fun, accessible dance.
In addition to the competitive, high
level sessions FDA wanted to ensure
that dance was accessible and appealed
to everyone regardless of age and
ability and so started to diversify their
dance programme to include cross-
generational dance sessions, the ‘Feel
Good’ dance sessions were launched
and have been a huge success across the
region.
Anna Melling says, “We wanted
everyone to get involved and give it a
go, without the pressure of progression
and performance, we wanted to create
a session people could get rid of the
stresses and strains of everyday life and
just let loose, a family friendly feel good
session.”
The ‘Feel Good’ sessions feature a
fantastic floor filling soundtrack to lift
the mood and get everyone moving.
Children, mothers, aunts, sisters alike
have been enjoying taking part in the
weekly sessions and also bonding in an
unlikely way. FDA’s work is linked to