The Arsenal Foundation has helped to fund Celebrate Islington, a festival at the Islington Assembly Halls that aims to recognise the borough’s rich diversity. Among the performers on stage were Sally and Theresa (above), dancers from the Brickworks Over 50s Community Dance Group – and they can tell us more…
Sally: I was a regeneration director for the Finsbury Park partnership and led on the facade on Fontill Road and playgrounds for children. I had a stroke in 2015 and I was really lucky to get my speech back after therapy. I have a new lease and zest for life and dancing.
Theresa: I used to work in banking, and then I worked at Lewis Carol Children’s Library on Copenhagen Street, encouraging children to read and helping out with difference classes. Since I’ve retired l love to keep fit, I knit and spending time with my family, especially my grandchildren.
Sally: A friend who is a member of the Brickworks Community Centre committee kept pestering me to try the Dance Group, then Theresa told me to come along several times because she thought I would enjoy it. So I tried it once, loved it and now I can’t get enough.
Theresa: We have sessions at Sadler’s Wells, which is an amazing place to dance. I’ve loved dancing from a young age and particularly love watching the waltz, so I was hooked from my first visit.
Sally: When I went to my first session it was exciting and I enjoyed every bit of it. We learned flamenco and hip hop, which is my favourite because I can dance with my grandchildren!
Theresa: As a person from the Caribbean I can’t help it – we are always dancing! It’s so good for people to keep moving. The health and social benefits are huge, and you always leave with a smile. The dance style changes every term and it can be hard to learn new dance steps, so it’s really rewarding when you remember how to do them.
Sally: We performed at the festival last summer – the first one since before the Covid pandemic – at the Islington Assembly Halls. We did a flamenco routine, so we got dressed up to perform and it was lots of fun. More than 250 people watched us and I really enjoyed it.
Theresa: It was great to see our friends from St Lukes, who also work with Sadler’s Wells, doing their hip hop dance. The festival featured singers, dancers and more, plus stalls, from a range of backgrounds, faiths and minority groups to celebrate the diversity in our community.
Sally: It’s great that The Arsenal Foundation is able to support a local festival like this – it brings people together and now more than ever we need communities to work together. As well as celebrating diversity the festival challenges intolerance, which is so important.
Theresa: It’s vital for football clubs to support the local communities they’re based in, and in the case of Arsenal the same communities that we dance in!
We know The Arsenal Foundation helped to cover event planning, performers’ and volunteers’ costs and food on the day, so it was a huge help. But we need to get more men dancing in our sessions – maybe Arsenal can help with this?!
For more information on Celebrate Islington click here. To find out more about activities at Brickworks, including the dance group, click here, and for more on what’s on at Sadler’s Wells click here.
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