AfroReggae Week One
Posted by Community Blogger on 2nd Aug 2010 at 10:28 | Community, AfroReggae | 0 comments
On Monday the atmosphere in the Everyman Foyer was warm and full of anticipation, with music from River Niger to set the scene. Paul Heritage, Director of People’s Palace Projects started his presentation about Afroreggae and then the artists came in to River Niger’s Story of the Drum, followed by a set of moving introductions and exchange.
Paul Heritage and members of AfroReggae at the meet and greet in the Everyman
After lunch the group was briefed on the intensive workshop schedule by Rebecca Ross-Williams and Andrea Beed from the Everyman and Playhouse Theatre and Community department. So many people and partnerships and logistics for transport and drums and monitoring procedures! The groups will be running over 200 workshops in 4 weeks, the dancers from Bad Taste Cru wondered what they had let themselves in for!
“It’s been the most amazing, exciting, crazy, tiring, busy and crazy time…” for Simone Reeves - Brazilian interpreter and dancer from Liverpool “…in a long time - Information Overload!”
As Betho Pacheco, AfroReggae Special Projects Manager, puts it, during this first week of their four week stay the group are “tuning in” to their environment and the people of Liverpool.
We are working out how best to build on the great engagement they have made with some groups and how to announce their arrival in different areas of the town in the evenings. The rain on Friday meant that this plan was cut short in some areas but, as Duda da Silva - Circus Artist - says “the weather is not a problem because the people of Liverpool have the sun in their heart.”
Altair, group leader and member of AfroReggae’s main band for 16 years says, “It’s a new experience for us and we’re learning new things every day.” Although AfroReggae have a wealth of experience in community engagement, they have not worked in this intensive outreach way before in the UK, so they are sussing out how best to build the programme. Altair says, “the energy of the people here is very similar to that of Rio - people being up for trying things and proud of their roots.”
In week 2 we will be adapting to the artists’ instincts about how to work and focussing on engaging the older young people through football, conversation, showing films and performances.
Magic Moments for me this week included:
- Welcome speeches by Gemma Bodinetz and Chief Angus Chukuemeka from Crawford House were straight from the heart and resonated with AfroReggae members immediately.
- A group of three boys signing and exchanging footballs with Bruninho, who is one of the youngest members of the group and it’s his first time outside Brazil. Bruninho got all of the boys to put their hands on the football in true AfroReggae style before they handed it over.
- Discussion at dinner with 3 students from the School of Tropical Medicine about their work in Public Health and Liverpool’s worldclass reputation for this work - their respect for AfroReggae’s courage and a real exchange between 2 groups dedicated to saving lives with art and science.
A full list of workshops is now up on our Facebook events group.
Polly
Polly Moseley
Liverpool PCT
Strategic Development & Programme
Liverpool's Year of Health & Wellbeing
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