“Quiet Beats is a brilliant opportunity for my son to be a part of something special. Through Quiet Beats, I saw his confidence grow everyday and at the end of each session a big smile on his face, talking about how he loves to dance! Deaf children can gain confidence through the medium of dance and movement and by working with Deaf professional dancers have role models too.”
Participant’s Mum
About Quiet Beats
Quiet Beats is one half of Jones the Dance’s Young Company, specifically for young Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.
We run dance workshops, led by our Dance Officer Amber Howells and guest professional dancers and choreographers during some half terms and in the summer. The workshops are specially tailored to the needs of young Deaf people so they can get the most out of dancing and enjoy the experience that has many of the barriers that they might find in a hearing setting.
Each workshop includes BSL interpreters.
What’s happening in 2025
On 29, 30, 31st July we are running our first Pilot summer school in North Wales. We will be at Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham. On 30th there will be a FREE BSL lesson too for families while they wait. This is kindly provided by our friends at COS. The dance workshops will be led by one of our Dance officers Eli Williams alongside Actress and Dancer Raphella Jullien.
From 12-14 August we will be running a summer school at Dance House in Cardiff (At the back of Wales MIllium Centre). The sessions will be led by our other Dance Officer Amber Howells alongside Dance Artist Ben Randall. On the last day the group will perform some short pieces for family and friends.
We have travel bursaries available for those who will find the travel costs to come to the sessins a barrier **
Please get in touch with our producer Kama if you would like to find out more.
Cost
These sessions are FREE. However there is significant cost in running each session. We kindly ask that you honour your bookings and let us know at your earliest convenience if you are unable to attend.
Travel Bursaries
We are offering travel bursaries for those where travel costs might be prohibitive. Please contact JtD’s producer Kama Roberts via email at info_and_admin@jonesthedance.com.
Who to contact for more info
Dance Officer - Amber (South Wales) quietbeats@jonesthedance.com
Dance Officer -Eli (North Wales) jonesbach@jonesthedance.com
Producer - Kama info_and_admin@jonesthedance.com
Artistic Director - Gwyn gwyn@jonesthedance.com
You can find out more about the team on the Who We Are page.
How to sign up
Booking for sessions can be done via our website. You will then need to fill in an emergency, access and permissions form before you come to the sessions.
The history of Quiet Beats
We began Quiet Beats during lockdown, with the help from Taking Flight Youth Theatre, the Deaf youth theatre company in Wales.
In the February 2021 half term, Deaf urban dancer and choreographer Chris Fonseca led the week of workshops taking seven young people through their steps in Urban and creative dance. Dancers Billy Read and Ariel Fung led the workshops in 2022, with the young dancers selecting Amber Howells to lead the project as their dance officer in Autumn 2023. Workshops include guest Deaf teachers and choreographers such as Anna Seymour, Panos Paraschou and Sarah Adedeji.
