Borough Life Autum 2006: Let's Dance!
Dancing in the street: Lisa and Lindsay with some of the L7L Superstars in Tyldesley
WHEN Lisa Morris decided to throw a bit of a surprise for her sister Lindsay’s birthday, little did she realise what she was about to start in her native Tyldesley.
“I decided to do a Spice Girls-type dance routine as a surprise for Lindsay and got some friends and family to join in,” she says. “Both Lindsay and I had previous dance experience so I put a little routine together for her big day.”
Though the party was a huge success, Lisa thought that was the end of it. But the young people she had taught had a different idea…
“They kept coming round because they loved what we had done so much,” says Lisa, 27. “They wanted us to teach them how to dance on a regular basis.
“We knew that there was a need for something for the young people to do and we couldn’t say no. We didn’t want to set up a professional dance school but wanted something informal, relaxed and friendly.”
So was born the L&L Superstars, and in the three years since that fateful birthday bash, it has become something of a borough phenomenon.
With heaps of enthusiasm and a little help from the borough’s Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) and Wigan Children’s Fund, L&L has become a prime example of what young people can achieve. What started out as a group of five practising has become a 25-strong troupe of children aged from five to 19 that meets every week.
L&L are regularly asked to perform at festivals, charity events and civic functions across the borough and beyond.
“Word quickly got round and more and more young people started to turn up,” Lisa says. “They were not just from Tyldesley, but from other areas like Atherton and we soon realised that we might need a little help.”
Lindsay worked with Ruth Walkden of the CVS on how to manage the group. This in turn led to a successful application for funding from the Wigan Children’s Fund.
“The money paid for renting the rehearsal rooms, travelling expenses and helped towards the cost of putting on shows,” says Lisa. “It also paid for Lindsay and I to take the dance teaching qualifications we needed.”
L&L have come a long way in a relatively short period of time and have clearly made a difference in Tyldesley. Lisa says: “This is the spirit of L&L – all the ideas for routines and shows come from the young people. We’re just there to make them happen.
“We identified a need and we have been able to share this with the powers that be in the borough. “The dream would be to see it expand into other areas of the borough and our advice to young people who have ideas about something they want to do is to go for it.
“There are plenty of people who will give you the help you need. There is no-one who can make it happen like you can.”
Doing it for the kids
Want to do something for children and young people in your community?
Then it might call for a little bit of teamwork.
Wigan & Leigh Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) now has its very own team dedicated to making a difference for children and young people in the borough.
The five-strong Children & Young People’s Group Development Team based at CVS headquarters on Church Street, Leigh, is the first of its kind in the country. It aims to provide community groups and organisations working with children all the advice and support they need.
Funding for the project has come from Wigan Children’s Fund and SureStart.
If you are involved in a children and young people’s group in any way, get in touch with the team by calling Laura Peers on 01942 514234 or e-mail lpeers@cvswl.org