A unique programme supported by the University of Leeds helped to launch a landmark performance by thousands of children in Bradford this summer.
The 'Sing Dance Leap' schools project, part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, brought together more than 2,000 pupils across the city with professional singers and dancers from the Royal Ballet and Opera and Northern Ballet, as well as the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North.
The one-off performance marked the culmination of an engagement programme, led by the organisations' education teams and designed to connect young people to opera, ballet and storytelling rooted in their own lives and communities.
Zane Berghuis, a postgraduate student at the School of Music and School of Performance and Cultural Industries, assisted the Opera North Learning and Engagement team in the project's development and delivery.
His postgraduate study makes up part of his Pettman DARE Fellowship, a programme supporting community engagement initiatives through a blend of academic study and hands-on experience.
Funded by philanthropists Professor Barrie and Maureen Pettman, it enables Fellows from Aotearoa New Zealand to work within Opera North's Learning and Engagement team while studying at the University of Leeds.
Zane, who is from New Zealand, worked closely with the team to support schools across Bradford – including some with little or no recent music provision.
"We introduced a drum in the performance called a Djembe which was provided by Laisterdyke Leadership Academy. It was a way of engaging students who were not so confident with singing but still wanted to be involved.
"The performance was fantastic. To see them step out and own the stage was transformative – not just for them, but for everyone who watched.
The University has done a good job at maintaining partnerships with the creative industry and giving students a direct way to connect.
"Being from New Zealand, I had no expectations of what Bradford would be like. We were working with students who didn't have much experience with curriculum music, let alone opera, and so it was a pleasure to see them find their voice with the help of our expert deliverers at Opera North."
Zane was the 20th recipient of the Pettman DARE Fellowship. He has enjoyed his time at Leeds, exploring themes of cultural identity after drawing on his mixed Maori and Pakeha (European) heritage.
He said of Leeds: "There was a richness there; the libraries, the space for relationships to grow and access to people doing incredible things. It was a privilege to be part of that ecosystem."
A lasting connection to Leeds
Zane's work on the 'Sing, Dance, Leap' project formed a major part of his Postgraduate Diploma in Performing Arts Education at the University. While gaining hands-on experience with Opera North's Learning & Engagement team, he also benefited from the knowledge and expertise of his supervisors, including Professor Edward Venn at the School of Music.
Zane recently returned to New Zealand Opera to work on Jonathan Dove's community opera Monster in the Maze, a continuation of his work on the Fellowship, but is exploring a return to Leeds in September for a potential Masters.
"The University has done a good job at maintaining partnerships with the creative industry and giving students a direct way to connect. It's been a huge privilege to study there."
