Barnsley steps up its fight to make The Civic a world class venue with the help of a renowned choreographer.
WEST END CHOREOGRAPHER Steve Elias brought dance to the streets of Yorkshire in his BBC series Our Dancing Town and now he’s helping to bring a sense of pride back to one of the county’s oldest arts venues.
His heart-warming series saw miners, majorettes, police offices, glass workers and office workers in Barnsley, Huddersfield and York dance their way to small-screen stardom under his expert tutelage. And it was while he was filming in Barnsley that he first came across The Civic, a much-loved Grade II listed building that has been part of the town since 1877 and now houses an independent arts charity.
A modern extension was opened in 2009 but a third of the historic building is unoccupied, with its traditional front entrance and foyer on Eldon Street disconnected from the rest. But a current fundraising campaign is hoping to change all that, returning the venue to its full glory and helping to boost Barnsley’s profile as a significant cultural destination.
This story is from the May 2017 edition of Yorkshire Life.
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This story is from the May 2017 edition of Yorkshire Life.
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