During the summer, Kids Kabin's members in Middlesbrough were given the chance to try street dance with local company Urban Kaos, thanks to our friends at Thirteen Group and ARC: Stockton Arts Centre.
Teachers Amy, Kelly and Sam taught us lots of fun and funky moves over six sessions, and none of us had ever tried street dancing before, so there were some nerves!
But the first session was full of loud music and games, which we all loved and this made everyone feel much more comfortable.
At first, JJ was very unsure about joining in and just wanted to watch, but when he saw his friends having so much fun, he gave it a go, and told us: “I didn’t think I would like it, cause I don’t like people watching me, but it was good.”
Jesse was really agile and loved learning the ‘tornado’ move. He said: “The teachers that taught us were brilliant dancers. Kelly helped me do a jump by holding my leg.”
Zehnab added: “I want to be a teacher when I grow up. I have taught my little brother how to do ‘The Perm’ dance.”
Progress was fast and by the end of all six sessions, more than 40 per cent of the kids that attended said they felt very confident about their street dance skills, and 35 per cent felt very confident about showing their families and other kids what they'd learned.
One participant summed it up by saying simply: "I want to do it again!"
We celebrated our achievements along with other groups from Stockton and Hartlepool at a special event at the ARC during the October half-term break, where we made lots of new friends, took part in crafts, more street dance and even learnt to play the ukulele before enjoying some juice and cake.
Middlesbrough Project Manager Sue McBride added: “This has been an amazing opportunity for the children and staff to try something new and we are grateful to Thirteen Group and the ARC. We look forward to our continued partnership.”