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I'm at the Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield to see Dansopolis. I know what you're thinking, but this is not a dancing dinosaur. It is in fact a stage show of ultimate diversity, an amalgamation of members from numerous dance groups in Yorkshire, an intriguing venture. From watching the show to speaking to those involved here's the low down on Dansopolis.

The energetic couple performing

The first and most notable feature of the event is that it would take Stephen Hawking to calculate the average age of those involved. On top of this the dancers and actors in the show are from all walks of life. The performances over the evening represent numerous styles of dance, from bellydancing to tap-dancing, it's certainly packed with variety.

From a group of young girls who just want to have fun to a break-dancing businessman, Dansopolis starts and ends with a bang. It's this variety and inclusion of such a mix of people that caught my attention from the start. With this in mind who better to meet for a chat than Alan and Carol Walker? Dancing together for over half a century they said before the show: "We've never danced Hip Hop and we don't think it's too late to learn".

Alan and CarolΜύΜύ

Alan and Carol caught my eye at the performance not because of their age but more because of their enthusiasm. They both left the stage at the end of their performance bouncing with gleaming smiles that reflected their obvious enjoyment. The couple got involved with Dansopolis when Alan saw an advert and decided to reply. He recollects: "I said,'There's this thing, Carol, Dansopolis...Intergenerational dance'. So I filled in a form and put the both of us on it. They accepted us and we went down there and started training".

Alan and Carol in their garden

It is this word 'intergenerational' that sparked my curiosity about the show and it's also what caught Alan's attention. When I asked him what it was like to work with such a huge mix of people his answer was simple: "The way that everybody got on with everybody was brilliant, they never treated us as being old enough to be their grandparents...They never treated us any different, but by the same token we didn't look down at them and say,'What you got your hair like that for?'".

The young and the old

Alan and Carol rejoice in reliving the enjoyment they had working on the show and it seems that all those involved mixed and worked very well together. One of the most striking features that stayed with me after seeing Dansopolis was the way that all the dancers stayed to watch the other acts. This, to me, was a sign that Dansopolis has achieved what it set out to do. The young stayed to clap the old and the old to clap the young.Μύ

Carol gives me a great example of this: "This little girl about four pushed in front of us, got the seat by Alan, put it down and said, 'I'll sit here'. Alan and the girl really struck up a relationship and on the second night the girl's mother said, 'Don't go. She wants to give you something'. The girl gave Alan a signed programme and said, 'Are you coming next year' and we said, 'Yes'. She replied, 'I'll see you then'". This small exchange is a great example of the mixing that Dansopolis promotes and in a time when younger people are becoming more and more closed off from their elders it is good to see.

Dance Mad

The couple are so full of energy. Throughout the interview Alan keeps jumping up to show me his dance moves and tells me: "After the first session I turned to Carol and said, 'That warm-up is fantastic, you feel so good afterwards'. Carol had to tell me, 'That's the dance'". They have a passion for dance and it resonates in their voice. They told me that they dance any chance they get: "We will dance in the middle of Leeds, just put the bags down where the music is and start dancing. We go through the tunnel at Dewsbury on a Wednesday or Friday and there's a gentlemen playing the accordion. The minute he sees us he starts playing this Viennese Waltz, I throw him a pound and we waltz through the tunnel".

The pair are brilliant and I'm tempted to stay and drink tea with them all day. They are passionate about dance and encompass what Dansopolis is all about. We need more ventures like Dansopolis, more ventures that bring people together and more ventures that help those from different backgrounds mix together.

Alan feeds his chickens

Sofi Lundgren, one of the event organisers and Community and Learning Manager at Yorkshire Dance, told me: "Dansopolis is an opportunity for all to participate regardless of age, gender, experience, and any other perceivable barrier". For me, it's this that makes Dansopolis one of the most exciting dance shows of the year. I highly recommend seeing it when it comes round again.

I would like to leave you with some passionate words from Alan about the youth of today: "I think that this country spends so much time giving assistance and aid to those people who don't really deserve it, they neglect the majority of young people who are fantastic...The people who are problems, who we hear about everyday and read about in the papers everyday, the ones who are costing this country billions of pounds, are a minority. The majority of young people are absolutely sound".ΜύΜύ