Riverside helps kids dance away boredom

A series of street dance workshops to keep young people in St Helens occupied over the summer holidays culminated in a special show last week.

The performance at the Cetra Community Centre in Haydock was an opportunity for the youngsters aged 4 to 14 to show off their new moves to their family and friends.

Inspired by hit TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and films such as Step Up as well as the hottest music videos, the six week dance classes were funded by social landlord Riverside and organised by Merseyside Police.

Riverside’s Neighbourhood Housing Officer Tanya Marsh said: “Creative activities are not only fun, motivating and a fantastic way to express yourself, but they’re also a great way to develop a range of transferable skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork and creative thinking.

“Physical activities are also an excellent way of teaching young people about health issues and encourage fitness and exercise.”

Police Community Support Officer Ian Hinton added: “The dance workshops were a great opportunity for us to engage with the local young people and for them to try something new. Most anti-social behaviour in the area occurs after school or during the holidays so the aim of classes was to keep young people off the streets by providing an alternative during the holidays.

“In addition to providing structure and leadership and giving young people a real focus in the holidays, the workshops took the worry away from parents as they knew where their children were and that they were in safe hands.”