Morena's Blog
Posted by Community Blogger on 18th Aug 2010 at 12:38 | Community, AfroReggae | 1 comment
Thursday 29th July:
My first encounter of AfroReggae was in the lounge of the PowerHouse. This is my home and I share it with 51 other young people. The few of us that came downstairs for the workshop began by sitting with the percussionists from AfroReggae. Through a translator they told us about their organisation and why and how they came to be in it. This painted a vivid picture of Brasilian life for us.
The difficulties of young people that they depicted enabled us to compare and relate our own lives to our peers across the globe. We all became drawn in and eagerly asked questions and created open discussions on the topics AfroReggae raised.
We were then told to just choose any drum. It surprised me how the teachers just told us what to do as if they knew we would be able to do it. I think the real reason for teaching in this way was because they didn't care if we could play the right rhythm or not. If they showed us how they believed in us regardless of who we seemed to be or how long they had spent with us, then this attitude would give us the self esteem and ability to do it. Giving people the chance to play an old petrol can may appear to be such a simple approach to the inclusion and restoration of the younger generation but the complex details that it consists of were evident from the first session I had with them. I believe this exposure to something completely new expanded our ability to empathise and simply enjoy new things with out feeling uncomfortable.
Thursday 5th August:
Bruno and Duda's cheeky charisma matched their circus talents. This workshop was more challenging for me as it required us to try unusual things in front of each other which took me out of my comfort zone. The most enjoyable thing for me was seeing some of the other residents flourish in the activities such as holding each other upside down and building human pyramids. At the end we all sat down and asked them questions and voiced our opinions.
I loved that there was a translator present because it enables us to see them express themselves in the most honest way they can. Also a lot of us would not have ever really experienced communication through a translator before.
Saturday 7th August:
All different groups of young people met at the Playhouse. As we were preparing to perform on Williamson Square later on, we all had to focus. I chose to learn an Afro-Brasilian dance routine and performed it with other girls from across the city. When it comes to having experience in dance most people have not ever had the chance to try an African style. This new way of expression through the body showed us that we are able to do more than we realise.
Also to learn a routine in two hours and then go and perform it in the middle of town is something I am proud of. To see our spectators smiling and clapping along was great feedback and a testament to our hard work.
Wednesday 11th August:
All different youth groups arrived at Anfield's grounds. It felt very official as we all sat in the very pristine Bill Shankly suite. We began by listening to all the AfroReggae members speak about themselves and their role in the organisation. Hearing about their family members dying was emotional to hear. However for me when Bruno (the circus member) said from his experience in England young people in this country we are wasting 'valuable achievement time', this made me cry.
There are so many people I see filled with greatness and I just want to shake them. They don't have the motivation, confidence or patience to see that there is so much more they could do and even now writing this my eyes are filled with tears. For so many reasons it is not all their fault.
We are surrounded by things that ruin us but we can use this to our advantage and learn from it rather than let it devour us. I am not perfect and I will always remind myself of what Bruno said. He has been in this country only a few months and already he can see our situation. Then a short film showing footage of AfroReggae's work brought their words to life. We then had the opportunity to learn a sequence from one of the the workshops of our choice. At the end of the day we performed it to an audience of officials.
Morena x
Morena Heneghan
Powerhouse Foyer
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