Asos partners with dance company Candoco

Asos has announced that it will be supporting Candoco Dance Company, the company of disabled and non-disabled dancers, to stage a residential dance training intensive this summer, as part of its on-going corporate responsibility activity.

The partnership will enable Candoco to offer dancers aged 18-30 an opportunity to develop their physical skills and creative potential in an inclusive environment, free of charge. The Training Intensive will run for two weeks and give disabled and non-disabled dancers from diverse backgrounds a route into the dance profession.

Founded in 1991, Candoco recently appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and has performed on international stages from Sadler’s Wells to the Bejing Olympics, and it is hoping that its partnership with Asos will extent its reach even further.

Charlotte Darbyshire, artistic co-director at Candoco, said in a statement: “There is so much physical talent and artistic potential out there among young disabled and non-disabled adults and a huge demand for wider representation in the dance sector and yet, there is simply not enough access to training or routes into the profession.

“This exciting partnership with Asos will enable Candoco to use our expertise in inclusive dance practice to provide an unparalleled learning opportunity for these young artists.”

Louise McCabe, corporate responsibility director at Asos, added: “We believe that every young person, no matter their background, should be given the chance to reach their full potential. We couldn’t be happier to be working with Candoco and supporting such an inclusive approach to creative expression.”

Asos expands its' corporate responsibility

The partnership sits within Asos’ wider corporate responsibility activity, a substantial element of which aims to promote and protect its customers’ mental health, wellbeing and body confidence. In recent years it has donated stock to disability charity Scope, to help more than 600 disabled people back into work, has partnered with Stonewall and GLAAD to support and further LGBTQ+ acceptance globally, and worked with Beat, the UK’s leading eating disorder charity, to help eating disorder sufferers and their families.

Image: courtesy of Asos/Candoco by Camilla Greenwell