A PERFORMING arts company for young people has received a £25,000 government grant. Swindon-based Revolution Performing Arts is one of more than 2,700 facilities to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. It has facilities in North Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. Founder Fi Da Silva Adams said: “We thrilled to get this support and humbled too. “For hundreds of children and young people, our classes in singing, dancing and acting have had a positive impact on mental health, as well as confidence and sheer joy during these difficult few months. “At a time when we are unable to generate income in the ‘usual’ way, this is a lifeline for our organisation. This allows us to reopen our face to face, group classes in a safe and secure manner.”
THE founder of Swindon’s Revolution Performing Arts has taken over a Gloucestershire company and is now delivering classes to young people in the county. Fi Da Silva Adams lives in Wanborough and already runs classes across Swindon. Both Fi and her team of trained teachers work with hundreds of children every week, including online sessions organised during lockdown. She has now taken over the former Kaleidoscope Creative Workshops which took place every Saturday at Pineholt Community Centre on Bird Road in Gloucester. These classes have been running successfully thanks to performing arts expert Marie Cartwright for several years with children aged four to 18 years attending from across Gloucester and Cheltenham.
The eight-year-old, Amelie Speirs, was the winner of the competition. Founder Fi Da Silva Adams said: “We wanted to offer a little festive cheer and we challenged our dancers, singers and actors to dress up on a certain date at a certain class and they were all entered into a competition for the best dressed. “Amelie, who is 8, and who lives in Shaw, West Swindon, was chosen for her cheeky pose and her unicorn/reindeer outfit by an independent judge. She won a book voucher for use at the independent book shop Octavia’s in Cirencester”. Fi Da Silva Adams and her team run multiple performing arts classes across Wiltshire and Shrivenham.