Bradford College

Students ‘Launch’ Company

A group of past and present Performing Arts students from Bradford College have collaborated to form a successful dance company called ‘Launch’.

Since forming, ‘Launch’ has performed at various events including: Bradford Mela, The Great Yorkshire Show, Bingley Show, Bradford Mini Mela, Appleton Academy Family Fun Day and Bradford College Training and Planning (TAP) Day.  Recently they also wowed crowds when they performed in front of hundreds at the Skills Yorkshire & Humber Event in Sheffield.

Launch currently has six members; Sarah Dembickjy, Tayma Lavelle, Paulina Jozwiak, Victoria Marshall, Kasia Magon and Liz Hall. All of the girls previously studied or are still enrolled on Performing Arts courses at Bradford College, and formed after Sarah discussed her desire to set-up a dance group with her tutor Damien O’Keeffe.

Sarah held open auditions earlier this year to find members for the company and is over the moon with her final selection. The group are all passionate about dance and its various styles. All of the members participate in a wide variety of classes, extra curricular activities, amateur productions and volunteering projects. 

Talking about the formation of Launch and their plans for the future, Sarah said: “Forming the dance theatre company has enabled me to learn how to work with fellow dancers who are all passionate about their talent. Creating launch has opened my eyes to see different dance techniques that work so well together, and with hard work you can produce beautiful performances. I have developed my choreography skills and now understand how others work, blending different styles and techniques and I find this really inspiring. As a company we look forward to developing Launch and building a good reputation.”

Paula and Kasia also work with young offenders as mentors with the Dance United programme in Bradford and have had the opportunity to dance at the famous ‘Rambert’ Dance Academy in London. Sarah, who has now completed her course at the College, is currently working towards IDTA training whilst teaching dance at Bradford College and Shipley College.  

Commenting on ‘Launch’ Head of Performing Arts, Damien O’Keeffe said: “At Bradford College we always encourage our students to gain real-world experience but this can be very difficult in the performing arts industry. I was delighted when Sarah came to me with the idea of setting up a dance company. It allows those involved to gain valuable experience, develop their skills, and build a network of contacts to help them in the future. The individual dancers are all very talented, but together they are quite a creative force. We are all very proud of LAUNCH.”

Whilst establishing themselves as a company, developing and choreographing routines, rehearsing and juggling their studies and jobs, the girls hope to build their reputation and turn their passion into a rewarding career. The group has worked hard to develop a website and with the support of Bradford College, they hope to promote themselves more and secure lots more bookings for future events.