Staff and students from De Montfort University (DMU) Leicester have taken part in a short dance film celebrating the work of community dance artists and produced by one of Britain’s leading dance theatre companies.
Quiet Revolutions was created by New Adventures and Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage and Studio to mark the tenth year of the Overture training initiative – a residential development programme for dance artists who have been working in education or the community for less than five years.
Since Overture launched in 2016, DMU has been well represented in the programme with Senior Lecturer in Community Dance Practice at DMU, Melanie Knott, working as a tutor on the workshop and a number of DMU Dance alumni taking part.
Melanie features in Quiet Revolutions, alongside current DMU Dance BA (Hons) students and members of Curve Young Dance Company, with segments of the film also taking place at the university’s Performing Arts Centre for Excellence (PACE) building.
She said: "They wanted to make a film that celebrated the work of community dance artists and rather than have it in documentary style.
“We were dancing with students from different year groups as well as young people from Curve Young Dance Company. I think that what is great about our students here at DMU is that they just embrace other people and welcome them to our spaces to collaborate with us.
“Many of the people involved in the whole film project in Leicester are connected to DMU as well, so it was really nice that the New Adventures team wanted to include us.”
Rueban Sampson, a DMU Dance student performing
The 13-minute film follows Phoebe, a community artist who is struggling with her caring responsibilities and financial pressures but finds her worth in connecting with people through dance and movement.
Reuben Sampson, Imani Robinson, and Marine Michel are all in the final year of their dance studies at DMU and took part in filming.
For the trio, Quiet Revolutions was a chance to get an insight into both the professional dance industry and learn more about what goes into creating films.
Reuben said: “I think one of the great things about this course is that the lecturers work so hard on bringing in outside professional people with a range of experiences.
“This was just another one of Mel's connections that she could connect us to and we get to interact with people from a world-renowned company like New Adventures.
Imani added: “We did a community module where I worked with secondary school and I also worked with older people, so the film really resonated with me. I think that the film highlights how important it is to work with communities as a dancer and make dance accessible to everybody.”
Imani performing
Melanie believes that – like Quiet Revolutions – DMU’s BA Dance programme celebrates the difference in skills, experiences, styles and backgrounds of the students studying, which helps the students connect with their community.
She said: “We're not trying to make everybody look the same. Our students come to us with different skills, flavours, bodies. You know, and there's a lot to inspire you as a dance educator that
“Our role is to give that individualised support, help our students find their place in the industry, because it takes time and versatility.”
Marine (front) performing
The university's Dance BA (Hons) programme was ranked number one in the UK in the Daily Mail University Guide for 2026/27, with the university also reporting 100% positive scores for Dance across 11 measures in the National Student Survey.
You can watch Quiet Revolutions on YouTube or the Sadler’s Wells website, where there is an audio description version and a behind-the-scenes film available.
Posted on Friday 6 November 2026