Jo Cone

One of the projects which Jo is most proud of and has become a legacy of her work is Breaking Waves, a Creative Dance group for the over 60s which was established through an Arts Partnership Project for West Sussex Council before Jo became a mum. Realising she could not carry the group on when pregnant with her first child, she supported the group to explore their own teaching and devising of class content, allowing the group of 12 woman to continue. The group is still running now 10 years later, growing in size and has included dancers performing. Like many projects Jo has run, she is most proud when she is no longer needed and the method of delivery and planning allows the project to sustain itself, allowing Jo to move her skills towards new and needed projects.

Jo’s past work had included a vast amount of training and cross curriculum projects in primary schools and nurseries, and becoming a mum led her to create Peek a Boo Moves which later then developed into ‘Doodle Dance’. During this time Jo had her second daughter and realised that to maintain a career in the arts around the juggle of motherhood, she needed to also support herself. Although Jo had frequently delivered on Arts Council England funded projects, it was the first time she had applied herself.

Being successful in receiving Arts Council England funding means Jo is able to further develop Doodle Dance, exploring the most supportive structure to enable her to develop her career whilst offering support to other artists through the FUEL COLLECTIVE. In addition to this, Jo hopes to expand the resources and opportunities to and for children, parents/carers, nursery staff and teachers, enabling children to Make their Mark!

Jo has recently been appointed to One Dance UK’s Primary Advocacy Panel which she is excited to support, campaigning further for the case of Dance and the Arts to support children’s learning and well-being.