On Valentines Day (a few days ago as I'm writing this), I received the incredible news that RMB Dance has been selected as a finalist in this year's Scottish Dance Awards! Given that RMB Dance's ethos is on sharing a love of dance, finding out this awesome news on the day of love seems quite fitting!
The category we're in is "Best Dance School for Community Engagement", which "recognises the dance schools that go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities". I'm particularly proud of this, because part of my mission with RMB Dance is to show the children that we can do so much for others with our passion for dancing. But, getting to the point where we could engage with the community has been quite the journey!
When I started RMB Dance 4 years ago during the pandemic, everything was so uncertain that I had no real idea what RMB Dance would, or could, be. All I knew was that I wanted it to be an accessible, friendly, and joyful dance school. Although I was so restricted in what I could provide in our first year, we still managed to find so much joy in our little class bubbles. On reflection, maybe the challenges we faced in that time actually brought us closer together and developed our passion even more.
Once we got through the pandemic, I was able to start considering putting on shows and performance opportunities. This was when I realised there was a chance for us to do something good for the community. Thus began our yearly, not-for-profit, charity showcases! Although we've only performed two shows up to now, we've raised almost £2500 for two Edinburgh charities, and hopefully through that helped many people from the community who access those charities. On top of that, more recently I've done sessions with charity Dads Rock, and our dancers have performed in local care homes too.
None of that would have happened without all the children and families that make up RMB Dance. Together, we have become what I like to think of as a community dance school, in the sense of using our love of dance to do good for others. I feel that this particular award category is such a lovely one for us, that recognises what we have achieved together ❤️
The awards ceremony takes place the week after our show, so May is going to be a busy month!
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