Dance brings Rochdale youngsters and refugee neighbours together

Dance brings Rochdale youngsters and refugee neighbours together

Young people from Rochdale have been getting to know their refugee neighbours.

A project at the Ronald Gorton Centre is encouraging local youngsters from diverse backgrounds to work together to create a dance piece, which will be performed at a festival in Manchester at the end of November.

Twenty young people, including those born in Rochdale and others with refugee backgrounds from countries including DR Congo. Zimbabwe and Angola are taking part. A series of weekly workshops at the Freehold centre is teaching the young people street dance, African dance and African drumming.

The group of young people, aged from three to 15, has been brought together by Fallinge-based organisation New Steps for African Communities (NESTAC). The workshops are being run by dancer and choreographer Magdalen Bartlett from Afrocats, who herself faced deportation to Barbados as a child.

Lois Disanka, 10, is a pupil at St John’s RC Primary and has been coming to the sessions every week. She said: “I’ve done street dance before, but never African dance and it’s really good. I’ve learned a bit of African drumming as well. I’ve been chosen to do a solo dance for the show in Manchester and I will do an African Dance and a drum dance as well. I’m looking forward to seeing our costumes.”

Her friend Chloe Ozgun, 11, who goes to Matthew Moss High School, said: “I like the drumming best as I don’t like to dance. It’s the drumming that I came here for. It’s more fun.

“We’ve met lots of people from different countries and everyone is really nice. I’ve made lots of new friends.”

The young people will perform at a showcase event called Nu Britannia at Contact theatre in Manchester on Friday 26 November. Tickets cost £5 and are available on 0161 274 0600. The show is part of the month long Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre Festival, which is taking place at venues across Greater Manchester.