CommuNIqué - Newsletter of the Bahá'í Community in Northern Ireland
Issue 110 - 5 Mashiyyat 162 BE - 1 October 2005 CE

 

"LIGHTS OF UNITY"

 Lights of Unity Baha'i dance troupe

Lights of Unity had their first public performance in Portrush on Saturday 27 August in the open air amphitheatre in the town centre of the town. The performance was hosted by the Association of Bahá'í Women in Coleraine and had an audience of about 200 people.

The following day a short performance was given as part of the Indian Community Centre’s Mela Festival. This took place in Botanic Gardens in Belfast , in front of an estimated two thousand people. The performance was spectacular. At the same event the BBC recorded a piece for radio on Lights of Unity, including interviews with Adib Ma’ani the artistic director of the project and with some of the cast members. This was subsequently broadcast.

Also on Thursday 25 August the all-Ireland newspaper Daily Ireland carried an article on Lights of Unity. This is the first article on the project and it was extremely positive. A scanned copy of the article is available by emailing to us at admin@lightsofunity.org.

The schedule for the coming weeks includes performances at community centres, schools and other community events. In addition to these performances some of the youth clubs in Belfast have asked for cast members to lead discussions with the club members. Between performances the cast members have been able to do a little bit of sight-seeing. After the Portrush performance the cast was able to visit the Giant’s Causeway nearby to see the unique geological formations and they have already travelled extensively across Northern Ireland. On Monday evenings the cast hosts a barbeque that is open to all and it has become a key date in the local Bahá'í calendar.

On 2 September there was a public performance in the Church of Ireland Rectory in Moneymore. It was hosted by the Rector, who organised the event and invited his Catholic neighbours to join him. Protestant-Catholic sharing of this nature is highly unusual in Northern Ireland. It was a wonderful evening. The performance was followed by folk singing and supper.

The 6 September performance was given in the Short Strand Community Centre, Belfast. We did not have any idea how the project would be received in this neighbourhood and were duly astonished. Firstly, as we set up the sound system and backdrop there was a gaggle of fascinated children firing endless questions – “Where are you from?” “What sort of dance…?” “How did you learn…?” When the performance started there were children sitting on the floor because there weren’t enough chairs. The children were young – some as young as eight years old, but they sat intently through the hour-long performance.

At the end of the performance the cast members were mobbed. Kalim demonstrated breakdancing, Molly sold t-shirts and other cast members talked to the young people in small groups. There was a strong lobby from a group of young people for the cast members to run a regular session in the youth club.

During one week the cast members gave three very different performances – one in Brownlow Integrated College with 1st and 2nd formers (11-13 years old), one in a Catholic Primary School with the entire school population (4 – 11 years old), and one in Dee Street community centre in Belfast.

The highlight of the week for us was the event in Dee Street community centre on 13 September. The community worker had suggested that the performance be cancelled because of the riots on the previous two nights. He arrived with his young children and said that he thought that there would be no audience. Some of the Lights of Unity team went for a short walk with one of the committee members and met some local young people. The local children immediately showed an interest and they came along for the performance. The community worker was astounded that we had been successful in attracting an audience and even more surprised at the reaction of these young people. He immediately booked a follow-up performance in two weeks and contacted all the other community centres to encourage them to use Lights of Unity. He said he was very impressed at the professionalism of the cast.

Everywhere we have gone we have received a wonderful response. It is clear that the project has the potential to make a profound impact on people.

EG

 

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