House of Jack, a not-for-profit community interest organisation, has now fully reopened after 18-months of pandemic restrictions, welcoming back a bigger community than ever before to its dance studio at Ocean Terminal in Leith.
Founded and run by Artistic Director Ashley Jack and Studio Producer Becky Enoch, with the aim of making dance, and its many physical, social and mental health benefits, as accessible as possible to all, House of Jack dance studio offered multiple online classes free of charge throughout each lockdown. In the process they built an ever expanding global community of young people and adults alike who met regularly online to dance and connect, while the pandemic kept everyone physically apart.
Youngsters joined from not only Edinburgh, but also from further afield in Scotland, and even from around the world, including two children hailing from India.
The parent of one of the children joining from the Isle of Iona said, “The House of Jack zoom classes were a real game changer for my 11 year old daughter during lock down. We live on a small Hebridean island so she hadn’t been able to access the benefits of dance previously.
“Besides all the mental and physical benefits of movement to music, she now has a love of Hip Hop and a new skill and confidence to take through to high school on the mainland.
The first of its kind in the UK, House of Jack dance studio is located inside a shopping centre – Ocean Terminal – with all the benefits that provides its students and the families of its students, including free parking, being fully under cover, and with numerous shops, restaurants and further leisure opportunities in the same building.
Ashley said: “We have a strong belief in the power of dance to connect people, build confidence and self-esteem while creating outlets for expression, and have strived to create a studio that is as welcoming as possible, with something for everyone regardless of age or level of experience.
“As a non-profit, fees are kept to an absolute minimum and participation in annual shows is always free for all children, including rehearsals and costumes, to remove as far as possible any financial barriers to taking part.”
Over the pandemic, House of Jack CIC secured generous funding from The National Lottery via Creative Scotland which allowed the studio to offer totally free, live and online world-class dance training and invaluable Q&A sessions with renowned dancers from around the world, even including LA-based Marty Kudelka (Justin Timberlake’s exclusive choreographer), Jaja Vankova (Step Up 5, So You Think You Can Dance), Deydey (the first female World Popping Champion), and many more.
A House of Jack regular who attended the Marty Kudelka workshop said, “Yesterday was a dream come true. Thank you so much to Mr Kudelka for taking the time to share his amazing talents and skills [and t]hank you to House of Jack for being able to put this on and having us learn from literally one of the dance industry greats!“
Becky added: “Between major lockdowns, while the studio was able to open to small numbers of under-18s, some of the local children who had attended online finally met for the first time at in-person studio classes, while adults classes continued via Zoom.
“What made such a difference, however, was that we were able to find new ways to connect, whether through the Q&A sessions with famous choreographers or by creating dance videos.
“In the run up to Christmas 2020, instead of the studio’s usual big theatre Christmas Show, we created Christmas-themed videos for each children’s class, something for the children to focus on and have fun with and for the parents to view and keep, in the absence of a show DVD!”
Now reopened fully, with waiting area and changing rooms again, the focus in the studio remains firmly on safety, keeping class numbers to a safe level, giving everyone plenty of space and following all guidelines. The Ocean Terminal studio is buzzing again with a renewed sense of hope that everyone can dance to a better future.
