Born to Perform reopens today (Monday) at The Deco with a special guest. Pictures by Leila Coker.Born to Perform reopens today (Monday) at The Deco with a special guest. Pictures by Leila Coker.
Born to Perform reopens today (Monday) at The Deco with a special guest. Pictures by Leila Coker.

Stilt walker greets excited Born to Perform members as theatre day provision reopens in Northampton

‘I am just so so excited to be back, I’ve missed everyone so much, it’s the best day ever!’ - Harry BTP student

A special guest officially reopened a Northampton disability dance school today (Monday).

The stilt walker and street performer was waiting at the main entrance to The Deco this morning as Born to Perform members arrived for their first day back as part of the national easing of lockdown.

Born to Perform specialises in sessions for disabled adults and children and become a huge success online during lockdown.

Kimberley Carey, Clementine Milnes and Charlotte Ashby - the three women who run Born to Perform said: “As a team we are so excited to be able to reopen our doors for our members today and provide them with a face to face day service.

"We have been operating remotely via Zoom for the past four months and we wanted to celebrate our return by welcoming everybody back ‘in person’ with a big celebration!

“We want to say a huge ‘well done!’ to our students who have learning disabilities, autism and various other health conditions which can make these recent times even more difficult to deal with.

"We are really proud of them and how they have coped with the ever changing rules, lockdowns and shielding guidance, today feels like a great day and a really big step in the right direction”.

All the Born to Perform members have had their first Covid vaccine, with second doses due shortly.

Kimberley, Clementine and Charlotte said: "We have everything in place to ensure we are following Covid guidelines and keeping our members safe. It will be really special to be back with our members face to face.

"Thanks to Jo Whiley who campaigned for people with Learning Disabilities to be prioritised, we think it has really helped to speed our reopening up which will be extremely beneficial for our members mental and physical health as well as providing respite for families during the day time.

“BTP have big plans for the future so big that we are sworn to secrecy, I’m afraid but all will be revealed over the next year! Keep your eyes peeled!”

Born to Perform are welcoming new adult members to the day provision which currently runs on Mondays and Thursdays from The Deco Theatre.

The under 16 Saturday sessions will be returning next week (April 17) in line with government guidance and the lockdown roadmap.

Born to Perform specialises in sessions for disabled adults and children and become a huge success online during lockdown.

Related topics: