Latest News
Twickenham Return for Middlesex 7's
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We are delighted to have been invite to return to Twickenham this Summer for the Middlesex Sevens. Students from across the country will perform at the Charity Showpiece on August 14. At the time of writing we look forward to welcoming students from: Leicester - Foxes Learning Centre |
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Wembley Date for Primary Students
Pro-Excel is delighted to be hosting our most high profile Primary project to date this summer. 52 students from Hey with Zion Primary School in Lee's Oldham, and from Primary Schools in Bridgwater Somerset will combine to undertake a dramatic performance to coincide with the team entrance for the 2010 Rugby League Carnegie Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on August 28.
The unique show will see pupils unveil 5 foot balloons depicting each player taking part in the final as the team line up's are revealed just before kick off. The event is one of the most high profile in UK Sport and will attract a crowd in excess of 80,000 people.
Pro-Excel's Liam O'Reilly said:
" This is a really exciting project for a number of reasons. Firstly, Wembley is arguably the most famous stadium in the World, a place where most people can only dream of stepping out on. To give these wonderful young people the chance to do that is something I am really proud of. Secondly we are combining pupils from 2 really important areas for Pro-Excel. Firstly to return to Bridgwater so soon after their involvement in the Alexandra Burke Show is fabulous, the team down there led by Mike King are a real inspiration, and secondly to return to Oldham is amazing. We are based in Saddleworth, Oldham, and our first projects back in 2003 were here. I am so pleased to return to our hometown and work with young people - most of which were babies the last time we worked here!"
Pro-Excel Expresses Condolences at Passing of Educational Pioneer Rex Hall
Pro-Excel was saddened to hear of the passing of Rex Hall of Rex Hall Associates in May.
Rex was a pioneer in education, operating at the forefront of the acclaimed Playing for Success Programme for more than 10 years.
Pro-Excel's Liam O'Reilly said: 
"Rex was a truly inspirational figure in education. I had the pleasure of meeting Rex on a number of occasions though my work with playing for Success. Many of Pro-Excel's principles and our approach to education is modeled on the PfS model that Rex was so pivotal in. I am very grateful for having had the chance to work with and learn from Rex and will hold his ethos towards education and young people in our work going forward. I would like to pass on my sincere condolences to Rex's family and friends and the whole of the PfS family."
Pro-Excel in World First at Twickenham
Pro-Excel's recent performance at Twickenham , in which almost 380 students from Bridgwater, Leicester, Richmond and Maidstone supported pop superstar Alexandra Burke smashed the World Record for 'Largest Backing Dance Troupe' which had previously been set by Alesha Dixon with a troupe of 251 dancers in March 2009.
Pro-Excel Director Liam O'Reilly said:
" I was astonished to hear that what had already been an incredible project to be a part of had actually eclipsed the World record! Unfortunately we had not applied for a record attempt to the Guinness World Records Panel, however as the show was filmed in its entirety we are currently attempting to apply retrospectively for the record to be officially recognised"
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Pro-Excel Deliver first Scottish Project
We were delighted to spend a week of the Easter Holidays in Perth and Kinross. The 8 minute Move It Show included 50 dancers and had a real Scottish flavour. The project, the first we have delivered on Scottish soil was delivered in partnership with Perth & Kinross Active Schools Team. The students performed their final show piece twice collectively to over 45,000 people at the home of Scottish Rugby - Murrayfield. The events took place for the Rugby Football League's MAGIC weekend and also the Rugby Union IRB World Seven's Tournament in May 2010.
This ground breaking project represents a real breakthrough for Pro-Excel. We have worked with more than 15,000 people in England and Northern Ireland since our inception. Last year we had the chance to take 200+ students from England up to Scotland. You don't have to look very far to see the amount of talent there is in the arts in Scotland, and when we were invited by Perth & Kinross to deliver our first project on Scottish soil we were overwhelmed. The talent in the 
schools of Perth & Kinross was staggering and matched only by the commitment of the young people, some of whom travelled 2 HOURS A DAY - EACH WAY!!! just to rehearse.
Pro-Excel would like to thank Tammy and Claire from Active Schools for all their work and the support of the SRU and RFL
Pro-Excel dancers to perform with Alexandra Burke
Pro-Excel is delighted to announce that our forthcoming performance at Twickenham for the St George's Day themed event as London Wasps play Bath in The Guinness Premiership will see students perform with X Factor Winner and number one selling artist Alexandra Burke.
In a Pro-Excel and educational first pro-Excel will link with 4 Local Authorities to deliver the project, with Bridgwater's " Give It A Go!" Programme hosting 2 Move It Projects, Leicester City's 'Foxes Learning Centre' and Harlequin's 'Try It 'Centre both hosting 2 'Days of Dance' under the auspices of 'Performing for Success' ( an arts based derivative of the acclaimed Playing for Success Programme) and Maidstone Aim Higher delivering a single day of dance with a cluster of their schools.
The show will be choreographed by leading West End Artist Jason Pennycooke. The show will be one of the largest mass movement productions of its type ever attempted in World Sport with 380 young people expected to perform.
The workshops and rehearsals will take place over the Easter Holidays, with the final show to be performed on April 24
Pro-Excel On Sports Relief Does Dragon's Den
In March this year Pro-Excel climbed the dreaded steps at London's Elstree Studio's and entered the infamous Dragon's Den.
We were taking part in a Special Celebrity version of the Show in conjunction with Sport's Relief.
We were seeking £100,000 investment in the company in order to expand the opportunities we can present to young people across the country.
The pitch was championed by Olympic Rowing Champion James Cracknell, but sadly, whilst impressing the Dragon's with our passion and enthusiasm, failed miserably to get them to part with their cash.
Pro-Excel Director Liam O'Reilly said:
"It was a huge challenge going into the Den and I was delighted we were able to take a group of fabulous students from Doncaster, who had the chance to perform for the Dragon's and in front of millions of BBC television viewers."
On the failure to attract investment he added:
"I always knew that it was unlikely the Dragon's would invest in Pro-Excel. The simple fact is we are not a company designed to make lots of money, we are a company designed to make enough money to develop and grow and continue to offer young people high quality and diverse learning opportunities and the chance to perform on some of the most high profile stages in the UK. I had hoped the Dragon's would have taken a philanthropic approach to our pitch and support the company on the basis of making a small profit, but helping make many more opportunities occur for young people. The main aim of going on Dragon's Den was to raise the profile of our work, and I pleased to say that this seems to have been successful"
Day of Dance Launches at Leicester
Over the years we have received many enquiries from individual Schools about delivering bite size versions of Move It in school. This is something I have always been very wary if doing, as the project is so strong and successful in the 5 day format that I was worried about tinkering. Many central budgets are now devolved to schools nowadays so I felt this bite size project could also allow schools to 'suck it and see' before adopting Move It as a major Summer School.
However, I've always believed everything we should do should be sustainable and sometimes to go and do a project if the Local Authority is only operating a one year plan has always left me feeling under a greater pressure to ensure that should Pro-Excel not return to a Local Authority we leave a lasting legacy that inspires young people to continue to dance. So many schools have asked us to come and do masterclassses and one off sessions to support GCSE top up etc. I felt now was the time to formalise this programme and package it properly.
So 2010 will see the launch of the Pro-Excel 'Day of Dance' The format still allows students to work Industry Style with Some of the UK's top Choreographic talent, but it works in school in term time if necessary and for one day. At the end of the day the students will have a polished 2 minute routine that cab be performed stand alone, as part of a school production, towards a Rock Challenge performance or at a local major sporting event.
In March 2010 the first Day of Dance will be delivered with Leicester City's PfS Centre as part of the national Performing for Success Pilot. We are really excited about the project and its performance at Leicester City's Walkers Stadium
For more information on the Day of Dance click here to send us and e-mail.
January 2010 - Scottish Debut for Pro-Excel
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We are delighted to announce that this has happened and in Easter 2010 we will deliver our first Project in Scotland as we take Move It to Perth & Kinross. The Project will see up to 80 students from schools across the area audition to spend a week under the guidance of one of our senior Choreographers to design, rehearse and perfect a show that will take place at the home of Scottish Rugby for the Scottish leg of the IRB World Seven's at Murrayfield.
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Last Summer Pro-Excel reached new heights as we provided a record show with some 240 students from 4 Local Authority's across England travelling all the way to Edinburgh to perform at the Rugby Football League's MAGIC weekend. The Scottish Rugby Union were so impressed with what they saw that they asked us to see if would be possible to bring the project to Scotland.January 2010 - Corby 2010
Delighted to announce our return to Corby in February half term. This is the fourth year running we have delivered Move It in Corby and the project is now one of the longest standing partnerships in the Pro-Excel Calendar.
This year 60 students from Corby Thrapston and Oundle under the Auspices of the Schools Sports Partnership will work with our team to design a Haiti themed show remembering and raising awareness as well as, we hope much needed money for the people of Haiti as they begin the long recovery from the recent tragedies out there.
The show will be performed in front of almost 30,000 people at the Walker's Stadium in Leicester as game day entertainment for a Leicester City match in the Coca Cola Championship.
Somerset Debut for Pro-Excel
Pro-Excel is delighted to be collaborating with Somerset's Give It a Go programme during Easter. The Move It Project will operate as a focal part of the Pathfinder's work in 2010 to raise aspirations in young people and raise the self esteem and talent of young people in the area.
The project will operate as part of the National Disadvantaged Subsidy pathfinder, which aims to offer the most disadvantage or hardest to reach young people access to high quality extra curricular provision both after school and in school holidays.
Doncaster Delight at BBC Star's Presence
Doncaster under the banner of its acclaimed Playing for Success Centre delivered its first Key Stage 2 Move It project over the summer.
60 students from Primary Schools across the borough took part in the Michael Jackson themed project which saw them train for just 5 days before performing at Doncaster's Keepmoat Stadium during half time of a Coca Cola Championship game.
The students wowed a crowd of over 14,000 people!
To make the project even more special, the students were choreographed over the week by none other than Children's TV presenter and West End performer Pete Hillier. Pete better known for his work as Boogie Pete in CBeebies BAFTA award winning Boogie Beebies was clearly impressed with the students.
"This project is amazing for young people. To have them for 5 days and see how their confidence and ability shoots up is a fabulous opportunity for them. I'm dead proud of their performance they have done their schools and families proud!"
August 2009 - Hull Hosts Space Age Spectacular
Move It 3 in Hull was a Space Aged Thriller. Students under the auspices of AimHigher spent a week preparing the show for local Super League Giants ahead of their battle with Super League Champions Leeds Rhinos.
The Show performed at New Craven Park in front of almost 12,000 fans was shown live on Sky Sports.
Move It projects unite students from a wide and diverse cross section of society. Costume is provided andprojects in over 95% of instances are free of charge for students minimising barriers to entry and the sheer profile of the final event often attracts some of the most hard to reach students.
Since are inception in 2003 over 14,000 people have auditioned for Move It. Many students have gone on tosuccessfully complete college and University courses and have directly related their passion and belief to succeed was heavily influenced by their Pro-Excel Experience.
Pro-Excel and Doncaster Remember a Legend
High School Students paid tribute to the late and great Michael Jackson during the Summer Holidays in the most fitting way possible.... By taking a remix of his music and dancing the show of their lives in his honour. As part of a national pilot for Performing for Success the students worked under the guidance of LA Choreographer Sven Taylors-Haasz. Sven a vastly experienced and incredibly talented Choreographer cut his dance teach in Los Angeles and is a real expert on anything MJ having choreographed official fans launch events for the man himself ahead of the ill fated This is It Tour.
The show was performed at the Keepmoat Stadium as Doncaster took on Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup.