Blind and partially sighted people of South Asian heritage took to the dance floor at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc), to perform for a live audience for the very first time.

The special event on 4 May was to highlight the work of Dance Dosti, the UK’s first programme targeting South Asian people with sight loss to be active through dance.

Dance Dosti is a one-year initiative that is using dance to improve physical and mental health, tackle social isolation and improve community engagement. The programme has involved three key core elements:

Creating over 100 online dance workouts in four languages (English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Bengali)
Working with the dance and fitness sector to improve the inclusion of people with disabilities from diverse ethnic communities
Piloting face-to-face dance programmes

The programme is created and led by inclusive dance company Step Change Studios and supported by Metro Blind Sport and Vision Foundation.

Step Change Studios Founder, Londoner Rashmi Becker, who recently received an MBE for services to disabled people, said: “It is exciting to see people who have never danced before proudly stepping on stage to perform for a live audience. Dance Dosti has highlighted the joy and confidence people experience in being able to access dance in a safe, supportive and sociable space.”

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