Everyone can dance - no matter their background

The Finnish Street Dance Federation will again bring the joy of dance children and young people who live at reception centres for asylum seekers. In April, the “Tanssi ei katso taustaa” project (“Everyone can dance – no matter their background”) will launch regular dance lessons at reception centres located throughout Finland.

The cooperation between the Finnish Street Dance Federation and reception centres began last year with the tour called “Terveyttä tanssista” (“Health through dance”), which gave asylum seekers a one-day introduction to the various styles of street dance.

“This year, we want to make this a more permanent activity, providing something regular and continuous for the uncertain daily lives of asylum seekers,” says Jouni Janatuinen, Chairman of the Finnish Street Dance Federation.

A new situation for both teachers and students

In order to make regular dance lessons a reality, the Finnish Street Dance Federation has hired 15 dance teachers across the country.

“We applied strict discretion to the teacher selection, since these are significantly different teaching jobs than those at normal dance schools and clubs. The students are not used to guided activities – possibly not even to schedules,” Janatuinen says.

In addition, the composition of the groups taught is in constant flux as asylum seekers move from one reception centre to another. In spite of the changing situations of asylum seekers, the dance lessons are designed to support their settling down in Finland.

“To promote natural integration, our starting point is that integration begins when a person crosses the border.”

The social and youth services of the municipalities in which the reception centres are located also participate in this project. The objective is to provide asylum seekers and local young people with opportunities to meet. A limited number of local participants will also be selected for the lessons.

The dance lessons will begin in April

With the exception of the reception centre in Kajaani, the lessons will begin during the second or third week of April and continue until the end of the year. The lessons will be on a summer break in July, and the Kajaani Reception Centre will jump in in August.

“Even though the main focus of the project is on children and young people, we do not intend to turn anyone away from these lessons. Asylum seekers who have already received a favourable decision may continue taking the lessons at least until the end of the year, and possibly for longer, since there are plans to continue the project until the end of 2017,” Janatuinen says.

What is street dance?

Street dance means styles of dance that have developed outside dance studios, usually on the streets and at the clubs of major cities. Street dance styles mainly originate in the United States, with American hip hop and funk music usually providing the backdrop to the movements and rhythms of street dance.

Nowadays, new street dance styles are being born all the time all across the world. For instance, the Azonto dance created in Ghana has gained major popularity, first in West Africa and then globally.

Popular older street dance styles include breakdance, hip hop, house as well as popping and locking.

For asylum seekers, street dance provides a hobby that is easily accessible, since the idols of street dance are easy to identify with. Most of Europe’s top dancers have roots in either Africa, the Middle East or Asia, and the originators of street dance in the United States are mostly African Americans.

The Finnish Street Dance Federation exports Finnish dance expertise

The Finnish Street Dance Federation was founded in 2007 to support the development of Finnish street dance and street dancers. The Finnish Street Dance Federation seeks to promote Finnish street dance expertise abroad. In addition, the Federation strives to secure international work and performance opportunities for Finnish dancers.

Further information for the media

Jouni Janatuinen, Chairman, Finnish Street Dance Federation, tel. +358 400 352 333, email: jj@nordicmoves.com