Early Moves: Reimagining the Role of Contemporary Dance in Early Childhood Development and Public Health

Presentation

Early Moves trains and supports early years practitioners to deliver high-quality contemporary dance for children in pre-school settings, reimagining the role a contemporary dance company can play in supporting public health, cross-curricular attainment and lifelong engagement with the arts.

Originally developed to address urgent inequalities in gross motor skills development, Early Moves piloted across 17 Manchester nurseries in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, aimed at improving school readiness & life chances. Though initially focused on physical development, the pilot (2025/26) demonstrated far broader benefits - including creativity, confidence, literacy, numeracy, communication & self-regulation - setting children up for successful transitions into school, and laying the groundwork for positive long-term health, wellbeing and life chances. It also fostered wider engagement with quality dance and creativity for children, nursery staff and families. With this proof of concept, we believe this to be a highly relevant and innovative model for civic partnership between arts organisations, local authorities, and pre-school education providers, grounded in the health, wellbeing and cultural engagement needs of local communities, and capable of being adapted at scale across the UK/Europe.

This project represents the first full-scale pilot outside of Manchester, taking place in Lambeth from Autumn 2027 to Spring/Summer 2028 - reaching 10 nurseries, 20 practitioners and 300 children while providing the project's first academic research through partnership with neuroscience/early childhood development specialists from UCL. By embedding contemporary dance of the highest quality in children's everyday nursery lives, we aim not only to set them up for positive long-term health and wellbeing outcomes, but also open the door to a lifetime of engagement with dance and the arts through the Rambert Grades teaching pathway and engagement with Rambert's wider work.

Artistic Team

Early Moves brings together artists, educators and researchers with expertise in contemporary dance, early years practice and child development. Daniel Fulvio (British), Rambert's Director of Community Partnerships, leads the project, drawing on extensive experience leading strategic partnerships and participatory programmes. He oversees delivery, partnership working and the future development of Early Moves. Olly Otley (British), Rambert's Early Years Dance Specialist, is the artistic lead for Early Moves and custodian of its artistic methodology. An internationally recognised specialist in dance for early childhood, she brings over 20 years' experience creating work with babies, young children and their families. She ensures the programme remains artistically rigorous while responding to children's creativity and development. Hannah Kidd (British), Head of Education & Examinations at Rambert Grades, leads practitioner training. She brings expertise in dance pedagogy and teacher development, supporting practitioners to embed contemporary dance sustainably within nursery settings. Professor Guido Orgs (German), Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, leads the research, bringing internationally recognised expertise in the neuroscience of dance, movement and social interaction bolstered by his former experience as a professional dancer. He ensures the project generates robust evidence while advancing understanding of how contemporary dance supports children's development. Dr Sinead Rocha (Irish), developmental cognitive neuroscientist at Goldsmiths, University of London, specialises in early childhood development and movement. She leads the evaluation methodology, ensuring research design is appropriate for children under five and generates meaningful evidence for the sector. Together, the team combines artistic excellence, pedagogical expertise and world-leading research to redefine the role of contemporary dance in early childhood.

Partners