An insight into Lowry Centre for Advanced Training

An insight into Lowry Centre for Advanced Training from the perspective of Lowry CAT Outreach Coordinator, Clare Fildes, in advance of our Auditions on June 29th 2025.

What is Lowry Centre for Advanced Training [Lowry CAT]?

The Lowry CAT Programme, part of The Lowry’s Learning & Engagement Team and part of a wider National CAT scheme, currently supports seventy talented young dancers to access world class dance training, aiming to progress onto full time training and subsequent careers in dance. We aim to develop confident technical dancers with strong artistic voices. Through our outreach and recruitment work we engage with approximately a further thousand young people across the breadth of the North West region. This enables us to widen awareness of and access to the scheme for all young people. 

An insight into Lowry CAT outreach programme…

Walking into Lowry it often feels like the beginning of a story. The scene is set, whether it be the dramatic weather during a Quays digital light display, winter swimmers as they warm-up in black wetsuits or a family of geese making their way to stage door. This morning, the Salford sun is shining and the building blinks and winks. 

Entering the building, I think about the many Lowry CAT students who began their dance ‘story’ by training at Lowry. For most young people, the opportunity to train immersed in artistic experiences is a rare and wonderful one. It is a pleasure to witness the impact this culture has on CAT students as they develop into young adults. Lowry CAT is a vibrant, energetic community. I feel privileged to be part of a system that provides a strong foundation in dance plus a direct pathway into a career in dance for young people, who show potential physically and creatively, regardless of their background/circumstances.

Once through the building – Lowry has many vibes, today is one of serenity – I am in the Learning and Engagement office opening emails. The first emails…

‘Wow!! Oh my goodness… I cannot express how incredible Cameron was and how fantastic the boys’ dance workshop was…Cameron had a very mixed group of over 20 boys and he engaged every single one of them. Myself and the other PE teacher in the session couldn't believe how much content he got through and the work he managed to get out of the students in the group. Please pass on our gratitude and appreciation to provide the boys with this opportunity and we wish him all the best for his tour!’  Lostock High School Trafford, Manchester.

‘Dom and Isaac were absolutely amazing! Their attitude and energy was infectious and the Year 8s really enjoyed themselves. When back to the changing rooms I asked my class how they found it and they all said that they loved it and it wasn’t what they were expecting when I said we were doing dance.’ St Ambrose Barlow Swinton Salford.

As we are mid-season, delivering dance workshops and projects across the northwest of England, I am beginning to receive feedback from the schools and groups hosting these opportunities for their young people. As shown in the above emails, teachers and pupils alike are often impressed by the extent of impact a Lowry CAT dance workshop has. Cameron Woolnough, mentioned in the first email, is himself CAT Alumni [Northern School Contemporary Dance CAT, Yorkshire] and teaches on Lowry CAT’s outreach team between performance jobs. He and all Lowry CAT freelance dance artists have multifaceted skills, not only in many contemporary dance techniques and creative methodologies but also in communication and facilitation, some with further specialisms such as in mental health research or osteopathy. These extensive skills and experience are necessary for the Dance Artists to deliver inclusive, engaging workshops for all. 

Dance Artists on our team can also assist teachers in talent spotting and identifying young people with potential. For example this feedback from Dance Artist, Lesya Tyminska, from a workshop last week: ‘A particular student really came to life during the creative tasks - had a very natural sense of performing which was really beautiful to see. I spoke to the teacher… ‘

This is the sixteenth year of Lowry’s Centre for Advanced Training scheme and this summer we are holding auditions for our sixteenth cohort. Opening the door of opportunity wide, we invite inquisitive young people who love to move, to attend Open Days and Experience Workshops to see whether CAT training would suit them, in advance of our auditions. Once training with Lowry CAT, students not only have specialist tuition from their industry-professional tutors, they also work with guest dance companies and choreographers, for instance last year’s guests included artists who work with Punchdrunk or Ailey 2.

To allow young people from all backgrounds to access this prevocational dance training, we aim to break down barriers. There are Department for Education, Means-Tested Grants available. We have a buddying-up system where we can team up parents and carers of students travelling from the same area to travel together. Passionate about our mission to ‘put creativity to good use, making a positive impact, socially and economically’, members of Lowry CAT Team and of our wider Lowry Learning and Engagement Team support those Lowry CAT students who may be in care or who have adverse personal circumstances, by providing bespoke wrap around care should they need this. 

Later in the day I meet with the Lowry CAT Outreach Coordinator for the Blackpool area. Working with local coordinators in Blackpool, we have established a weekly engagement activity for 20-30 enthusiastic young people from areas of socio-economic deprivation across Blackpool, whilst providing bridging provision to CAT for dancers graduating from Royal Ballet School Primary Steps, developing local infrastructure. 

On leaving the building I hear how our students in their graduate year have all had offers of places at top conservatoires and universities around the country and beyond. Looking at the water, I reflect on how at least two of these students joined less than 4 years ago with little or no prior training in dance. They have certainly trained hard! It feels, to me, like yesterday that they were 13 years old, starting their dance story at CAT, full of potential but with little to no technique or training experience. Blink and they are nearing 18 with movement that moves you as they move on to their next chapter of their dance story…

If you or someone you know is age 11-16 and interested in exploring dance in more depth, email CAT@thelowry.com to register your interest

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