A COMMUNITY dance club in Barry will get a new purpose-built floor after the Vale council helped it secure funding.

Motion Control dance, based at the YMCA, recently received a £2,106 Sport Wales grant for the project.

That was combined with money generated through club members’ own efforts and match funding from the Moondance Foundation and the Third Sector Capital Investment Fund.

The new sprung floor was installed over Christmas, meaning the 274 members’ dance and movement sessions no longer take place on a concrete floor, which can lead to injury problems.

Vale council cabinet member for leisure, arts and culture, Cllr Kathryn McCaffer said: “I’m delighted that Motion Control Dance successfully applied for this grant, which has helped them realise the goal of installing a new floor at their studio.

“As a local authority, we believe there should be a place for sport for everyone.

“The installation of this floor means members can now practice on a specially designed surface and that can only be of benefit.”

The Place for Sport Grants range from £295 to £50,000, with £1 million available.

Funds are allocated by Welsh Government through Sport Wales,

Sport Wales’ director of elite performance and co-ordinator of the Place for Sport fund, Brian Davies said: “The response to the application process was quite staggering really.

“We were able to direct many people to our other grant schemes, but it was a real challenge making the final awards.

“We’re delighted that so many clubs, across so many sports, are going to be strengthened because of the investments we’ve been able to make.

“Hopefully, given the response we had, we can make an excellent case for additional funding from Welsh Government in the future.”

Motion Control Dance, director and founder, Emma Mallam said: “We are delighted with our new sprung floor.

“It really makes a difference to our space – it’s a real dance studio now.

“We can be assured that we are delivering safe and inclusive movement sessions for everyone.

“We hope that the new floor will inspire our members to push themselves further in developing their movement skills as well as encouraging new members to join one of our sessions and enrich their lives through movement.

“Thank you to everyone who helped us raise the funds to purchase such wonderful equipment as well as Moondance Foundation, Sport Wales and the Third Sector Capital Investment Fund for their generous financial support.”

For details, email info@motioncontroldance.com