The Story Studio – Bringing Reading, Creativity and Wellbeing Together at KPAC

There’s something new taking shape at KPAC, and this time it’s not happening inside one of our dance studios!

We’re delighted to be creating The Story Studio – a brand-new reading, wellbeing and breakout space for the hundreds of children and young people who come through our doors each week.

The project has been made possible thanks to £3,000 of funding from North Lincolnshire Children’s Literacy Trust, and we’re incredibly grateful for their support in helping us turn our idea into a reality.

Why The Story Studio?

Many of our students spend several hours at KPAC each week, often attending multiple classes in one evening. KPAC has therefore become much more than somewhere they simply come to dance – it’s a place where friendships are made, young people grow in confidence and our students feel part of a community.

We wanted to make better use of the time they spend between classes too.

Like most young people, when our students have a break, it can be very easy to automatically reach for their phones. We wanted to give them another option – somewhere comfortable where they can sit, relax, pick up a book, spend time with friends or simply have a little quiet time before their next class.

That idea became The Story Studio.

More than a reading corner

The Story Studio will be a permanent part of KPAC and will include books for children and young people from ages 2–18, alongside comfortable seating and a simple book-borrowing system so that students can continue reading at home.

Reading and wellbeing will also go hand in hand.

We will have a dedicated selection of books covering subjects such as anxiety, confidence, friendships, grief, emotions and mental health, alongside fiction, non-fiction and books linked to dance, theatre and the performing arts.

We also want The Story Studio to help connect our families with wider reading opportunities across North Lincolnshire, including information about our local libraries and how to become a library member.

For us, it’s about creating a space where children can read, relax and recharge.

A very special community collaboration

One of our favourite parts of the project is that our new bookcase isn’t simply being bought from a shop.

We are working with Scunthorpe Men in Sheds, who are building a bespoke handcrafted bookcase especially for The Story Studio.

Men in Sheds provides a friendly environment where people can come together, socialise and learn and share woodworking skills. Their Scunthorpe Shed is actually based here at KPAC on Enderby Road, which makes their involvement in the project even more special.

Having something handmade locally, by members of our own community, feels exactly right for a space that we hope will be enjoyed by KPAC children and families for many years to come.

A huge thank you to everyone at Scunthorpe Men in Sheds for being part of our Story Studio journey.

Reading and performing arts belong together

At KPAC, we don’t see reading as something separate from the performing arts.

Stories are at the heart of so much of what we do.

Every dance can tell a story. Every performance communicates emotion. Books allow children to use their imagination, understand different experiences and discover new worlds – many of the same skills we encourage every day through dance, music and theatre.

That’s why we want The Story Studio to become more than a one-off project.

We want to build reading into the culture of KPAC, grow our collection over time, encourage our families to use their local libraries and celebrate reading through activities, displays and even our performances.

Thank you

We would like to say a huge thank you to North Lincolnshire Children’s Literacy Trust for believing in our idea and providing the funding to make The Story Studio possible.

Their support is allowing us to create something that will benefit children and young people at KPAC not just this year, but for many years to come.

Thank you also to Scunthorpe Men in Sheds for bringing another wonderful community element to the project by creating our bespoke bookcase.

The Story Studio is still coming together, with our bookcase and books still to arrive, but we couldn’t resist sharing a little look at what we’re creating.

We’ll be sharing more as everything arrives and the space is completed.

We can’t wait to see our students enjoying it – choosing a book, chatting with friends and having somewhere they can simply sit, read, relax and recharge between classes.

Because at KPAC, every great dancer has a story to tell – and every great story has the power to inspire.