Sport In Profile UK Issue 01 | Page 4

THE FACTORY DANCE ACADEMY THE FACTORY DANCE ACADEMY FDA is a not-for-profit dance school working with over 1110 young people and adults each week across the North East. Set up in 2007 by Gary and Anna Melling as the dance arm of parent company NE Music Factory CIC. The dance school was set up to offer affordable and accessible dance opportunities and has gone from strength to strength, in the last 12 months alone has seen a ‘throughput’ of 80,000 individual attendances at dance sessions across the region. 4 ISSUE 01 Supported by Children in Need, Sport England and Street Games, FDA work in schools and community settings across the region as well as running a dance training centre in Blyth, Northumberland. FDA specialise in Street Cheer, Hip Hop, Break Dance and Cardio Fit but have seen a massive surge in the popularity of Street Cheer over the last couple of years. Street Cheer is a fusion of Street Dance and All American Cheer and used pom poms and vocal skills to create this unique dance form.