24,000 people from across the Midlands are preparing to dance their way to London 2012 with Lawk Naach, a project bringing Punjabi dance to all corners of the region.

Lawk Naach, run by Dance Sansaar, will deliver over 960 dance discovery workshops and 430 performance classes across the Midlands as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

James Corden and the One Direction boys have already taken part in this amazing activity! Watch the film on YouTube.

Lawk Naach is part of Dancing for the Games, the programme inspired by London 2012 and part of the Cultural Olympiad in the West Midlands. It has been funded by Legacy Trust UK, which is creating a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by funding ideas and local talent to inspire creativity across the UK, as well as Arts Council England and Advantage West Midlands.  

This project will culminate in a large site specific event, with 2012 people performing Lawk Naach in celebration of the Olympic Torch relay and the London 2012 games. Each of the 12 Midlands regions participating in this project will be represented by a Lawk Naach team - i.e. ‘Team Hereford’ or ‘Team Wolves’. Each Lawn Naach team will bring the Olympic ‘Team spirit’ with them to the finale event and all 12 teams will come together to showcase their newly acquired dancing skills to the world!

The aim of the Lawk Naach project is to reach all communities of the West Midlands, through a series of interactive discovery workshops and online resources. The focus of this project will be two of the most popular dance forms of Lawk Naach; Bhangra and Giddha. Both are joyous and vibrant forms of dance which come from the North Indian region of Punjab. The discovery workshops last 1 hour each and are completely free of charge. As well as learning dance movements, participants get an understanding of Punjabi culture and have the opportunity to take part in the finale event.   

Dance Sansaar are a non profit organisation set up to educate, promote and preserve Traditional Punjabi Folk Arts.  As an organisation they want to increase cultural understanding through the medium of dance, music and visual arts.

Dance Sansaar, partner organisations and artists will work together to enhance the lives and learning experiences of the communities in our region.