The Anand Asian Women’s Group
Equal Arts has worked with the Anand group over four years. The group works primarily with isolated older women from Asian communities living in Gateshead. This year the women are taking part in dance activities with children of primary school age to improve their confidence and health as well as challenge negative stereotypes.
They have worked with dancer Catherine Dufton to look at dance routines or scenes in favourite films, including Bollywood movies, and visited primary schools to involve the children in the dance routines and invite them to come up with dance routines based on their own favourite movies. The two sets of routines will be combined and performed in February 2011 as part of the Lohri Festival, which celebrates women’s achievements.
“When a group of Asian women lead a session in schools where there’s very few children from ethnic backgrounds it’s great, everyone loves it, and benefits too.”
