April 16, 2025

Free dance lessons are back in the neighborhood!  

Youth Fund Let's Dance in twice as many neighborhoods this year 

The Let's Dance Youth Fund is getting a follow-up. Starting this summer, free dance lessons will be offered again in various neighborhoods across the Netherlands. Girls (and boys) can explore different dance styles in their own neighborhoods, from hip-hop and R&B to Afrodance. The goal is to get more girls to participate in cultural lessons on a regular basis.  

The "Jeugdfonds Let's Dance" neighborhood project had a successful launch in 2024. 679 children participated in dance lessons in their neighborhoods, taught by professional dance instructors, in five locations. Now, the project is running in twice as many locations across the country. The Jeugdfonds Sport & Cultuur (Jeugdfonds Sport & Culture) aims to encourage girls, in particular, to join a sports or cultural club. We want to give all children and young people the opportunity to participate in sports and culture, but we also want to ensure that girls don't fall behind. It's incredibly important to promote equal opportunities—at every level—from an early age! This is according to Petra Bosman, director of the Youth Fund for Sports & Culture. 

Female dance teachers

This time, the program is primarily targeting female dance teachers, as the pilot program revealed that male teachers pose a barrier to participation. To ensure that girls enroll at the dance school after participating, further attention is being paid to how this works and emphasizes that the Youth Fund can fund it. Bosman: Participation in sports and culture is fundamental to the development of children and young people. We therefore hope to reach more children again this year.  

Participating places or regions: Amsterdam, Breda, Capelle a/d IJssel, Groningen, Haarlem, Hengelo, Lelystad, Limburg, Utrecht and Zeeland.

>> Read more about the Youth Fund Let's Dance