Army base dance workshops

Zest was asked back by the fantastic charity ‘Little troopers‘ to run some army base dance workshops. They support Children who’s parents serve in the British Armed Forces. They work to keep children and parents bonded, even when they are in different countries. Children who live on army bases can sometimes feel isolated, so Little troopers gives then exciting opportunities and experiences.

Last year they took us to Germany to run some army base dance workshops, but this year it was closer to home in Belfast.

The army base we stayed on was so much nicer than last time (think spooky desolate horror movie kind of look) so we were much relieved to have our own rooms and bathrooms! We had a fun night with the organisers in the Officer’s Mess, planning for the next day.

Two Zest teachers were running the workshops. One teacher was teaching Bollywood and Samba Carnival dance, and the other was teaching Street dance.

Workshops

We had around 30 children turn up, ages between 7 and 13, and they were all keen to dance. It was a fantastic day playing lots of dance games and learning the routines. We dressed the children up in costumes for each of the dances, and they even got a little make-up and their hair done before the show to make them feel even more performance ready and excited.

Performance

The parents who were on the army base came to watch the show, and we took lots of videos to send back to the parents who were in other countries, so they could see their children performing and having fun. It was a great performance and they all did really well. At the end we had to award two medals for our most hard working ‘Troopers’, and it was a hard decision to make, but we picked one boy and one girl who were talented but also worked well in the group.

It was important for us to give the children a really fun day, and to take their mind off their parents being away, fighting for their country. The children living an army life deserve as many opportunities as other children, so we wanted to leave them with a day they will always remember!