Arts & Culture
Songs & Scones at Retford Library: April - July 2026
Who doesn’t love a cup of tea, a lovely scone and some social music-making?
Published 6th May 2026
Inspire Youth Arts were delighted to work in partnership with Next Door Dance for a second year running, to deliver Catapult Dance Festival 2026 on Wednesday 22 April at Mansfield Palace Theatre.
Photo credit: Lamar Francois
Catapult Dance Festival was a fun evening of dance, showcasing brand new work from 150 children and young people from groups across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
With an audience of 350 packing out the theatre, the event premiered new commissioned dance pieces created by Next Door Dance and three Mansfield schools, Croft Primary School, Beech Academy and Birklands Primary School. The work in schools aims to support the transition from dance in education to catapulting them into future dance opportunities with Inspire Youth Arts and Next Door Dance.
Following a three day intensive choreographic project which took place during the Easter break, young people aged 11-18 from across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire showcased a brand-new Shadow Movement Project performance piece, created with Next Door Dance.
The festival also showcased exciting new performances from Inspire Youth Arts dance groups and invited guests including: Jump Start, Next Door Dance Youth Company, Inspire Youth Arts Ballet, Inspire Youth Arts Tap, Catapult Youth Dance Company, Retford Oaks Academy and West Y Dance. Find out more about each performance on the Catapult Dance Festival webpage.
Inspire Youth Arts will be broadcasting the performance online on Saturday 9 May, between 6pm – 9pm. Please follow the link to tune in!
Inspire Youth Arts would like to thank Next Door Dance and all our artists and young dancers for creating a fantastic Catapult Dance Festival 2026!
