LPM Dance was established in 2011 by George Adams and Helen Gould, who shared a passion for creating new dance opportunities for diverse audiences in a wide range of settings. Their commitment to collaboration has shaped our work from the beginning—developing exciting dance experiences for audiences, while supporting artists through innovative projects that build skills, inspire creativity, and strengthen the sector.

Our early performance projects took place in unconventional spaces—bars, libraries, parks, outdoor locations, and cabaret venues. Participation soon became integral to our practice, and we began working closely with communities of all ages and abilities.

From 2018 onwards, we started to develop longer term programmes in areas where dance provision was limited. At this time Helen was working for English National Ballet’s Dance and Parkinson’s programme in Manchester and Liverpool. She was keen to establish opportunities for people living with Parkinson’s in Lancashire. She teamed up with Dr Mel Brierley, to launch LPM’s specialist programme of classes.

The lockdown period brought significant challenges for us and the communities we serve. Many of the people we work with were among the most vulnerable and experienced acute social isolation. In response, we moved our classes online, enabling people from across the UK and beyond to join us. Demand for our online programme continues, and we still run weekly classes to support those who need them.

Post lockdown, we recognised that some Lancashire communities remained socially isolated with limited access to provision. In response, we launched our first Dance and Health Hubs in Preston and Fleetwood—geographically focused programmes offering weekly classes, one off workshops and community building festivals. We now have Dance & Health Hubs in Fleetwood, Preston and East Lancashire. Our specialist work with people living with neurological conditions remains central to our Dance and Health Hubs, we now run five weekly Neuro Moves classes across Lancashire, including one online.

While we remain committed to nurturing local grassroots communities, we also value wider connection and collaboration. Our international partnerships enrich our local work, enabling us to share best practice and create projects that help communities feel connected to something bigger.