Without Walls is delighted that WIRED by Flex Dance Company and solo performer, George Williams, a remarkable dancer who has learning disabilities, has reached the finals of the National Lottery Awards.

WIRED, has broken new ground for dancers with learning disabilities and is competing in the Best Arts Project category.  George beat off stiff competition from over 700 organisations to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, which celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things. The project has been commissioned by TIN Arts with touring supported by Without Walls with funding from Arts Council England through the National Lottery.

Described as a ‘real-life Billy Elliott’, George Williams from Stockton-on-Tees, has overcome several obstacles including having a learning disability, to gain a national reputation in dance. George became the first ever dancer with a learning disability to audition for the National Youth Dance Company of England, joining the company for an extensive national tour. In 2018 with touring support from the Without Walls network, George has travelled the length and breadth of the country reaching new audiences with his unique brand of physical dance and parkour.

On the news of his nomination, George said: “that’s really exciting! I like performing and showing my moves, doing lots of performances all across the country”

Josephine Burns, Chair of Without Walls says, “Since 2007, we have commissioned over 100 innovative outdoor arts works and this year, we are delighted to support 13 new productions, three created by disabled artists and which are now touring across the UK and beyond. Flex Dance Company have produced George Williams’ dance piece, WIRED, and we are thrilled that it is recognised as a potential winner of a National Lottery Award 2018” 

The project with the most votes will be crowned the winner and receive a £5,000 cash prize to spend on their project, an iconic National Lottery Awards trophy and attend a star-studded glittering awards ceremony to be broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2018.

Voting is open now until 27 July 2018 at #NLAwards www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/project/wired-dance-george-williams