Dance4Life Event Ireland

Here is a report from Natasha, from Dance4Life IST, who was at the Event in Dublin:

So there we were, ten to three and waiting for the kick off in a beautifully decorated “Pod Club” in Dublin (lots of white balloons, a huge screen playing the logo loop…). Apart from the Dance4Life crew themselves (Karen, Aoife, Connor…) there was also a Doctor present (You never know…),a couple of people armed with film cameras to capture the afternoons events, and two bar staff supplying the water.

3 o’clock arrived and I began to get a little nervous – where were the expected hoards ? No worries, I was assured – the young people operate on Irish time, so they’ll be here soon. And they were – slowly but surely a trickle of kids arrived at the Pod, all wearing the Dance4Life T-shirt, and these young people were certainly enthusiastic. The DJ, Connor G of 2fm played music non-stop and the youth were full of energy. By the time that Connor climbed on stage to practice the Drill, the dance floor was buzzing. The Drill was met with lots of enthusiasm – particularly from a group of youths from Zambia, in Ireland as guests of the National Youth Council of Ireland. Benjamin Mwape, one of the youths, waved enthusiastically at me as I tried to capture him on film dancing – a wonderful moment of involvement.

The Minister for State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Conor Lenihan attended the Event, and after a round of handshaking and a short briefing about Dance4Life he went and mixed with the youth, before climbing on the stage to congratulate them and encourage them further in their important role in the future. He was there for the highlight of the afternoon, the simultaneous dancing of the Drill. He said, "Young people represent one of the largest groups at risk of contracting this disease. Targeting them through an accessible medium – such as dance – will help reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS in future generations."

At 5 o’clock the event ended and the young people left, hopefully an experience richer. In their words, “Dance4life is different because we get to dance and do fun stuff with lots of kids our own age” and “we feel like we are really doing something to change the future rather than just fundraising”. Who couldn’t be satisfied with that ?

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