Since launching last year, the agency has created over 200 professional opportunities for local talent
The countdown is officially on to this year’s Belfast Mela Day this weekend, the culminating event of the annual multicultural festival.
Belfast Mela Day takes place this Sunday, August 24, from 12 noon to 6pm. Get ready to see Botanic Gardens transformed into one massive global wonderland of world music, dance, art, theatre and international cuisine. The festival is organised by ArtsEkta, a leading cultural arts charity, and is known for celebrating the diversity of Belfast’s culture and communities.
Move to the rhythm of the world as global beats, vibrant dance and cultural fusion come alive for Mela Day, bringing you the best in music, dance, food, theatre and art to celebrate our city’s culture and communities.
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Among those looking forward to returning to the Mela World Stage this Sunday is Azeem Alahi, the actor, model and dancer from Co Armagh behind Dance United NI. This new collective is made up of diverse young dancers living in Northern Ireland with influences of bhangra and Arabian music, all infused with dynamic hip-hop elements.
Dance United NI is the first dance agency here dedicated to revolutionising the dance and performance industry. Their aim is to provide dancers with professional opportunities in performances, TV, theatre and more. Since launching last year, the agency has created over 200 professional opportunities for local talent.
“I’m so excited that Dance United Agency is returning to the Belfast Mela main stage this year in a prime-time slot, and it’s an extra special moment as we celebrate our first anniversary,” Azeem told Belfast Live.
For Azeem, aged 22 and from Craigavon, his mission with Dance United NI has been to advocate for dancers’ rights, ensuring fair pay and fair treatment in an industry where young performers are often exploited.
He said: “This year we have hired a lot more dancers and now have 45, which isn’t a lot but we definitely put a focus on the quality, rather than the quantity of our dancers. We’ve also introduced a management side to our agency which involves one on one check-ins every single month to check in on how the dancers are getting on, what they require, where they see themselves and what they want to do the following month.
“We’re working a lot more with production companies and different clients that we’ve never worked with before, just because they know who we are now. We’ve come a long way in 16 months but of course there’s been a lot of challenges too with people believing in this because it’s so different and new.”
Azeem added: “In just over a year we have set standards for performers’ rights in Northern Ireland while also creating economic opportunities and giving back to our local talent. There’s nothing else that exists like this still here so in that way it’s still a little challenging for people to understand what we do.
“Even a year on, I think people are getting more accepting, that we’re an agency that helps dancers and not a dance school, we’re there to support them. We have done events like the Olympic Homecoming at the SSE Arena, one of our dancers directed the entire thing and we had 12 dancers on stage.
“We’ve also been doing corporate events like Halloween and Christmas time alongside wedding entertainment, the Amal Project, Belfast Mela and Féile. And I have a dance crew who have qualified for the K-POP World Festival. It’s almost like Eurovision in that part of the world and the show will be televised in Korea so they are super excited to perform at that.”
And just late last year, the Dance United NI founder was recognised as one of Belfast’s 22 Entrepreneurs Under 22, an incredible achievement that highlights Azeem’s hard work and vision in growing his agency while also making a meaningful impact on Belfast’s creative and youth networks.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s Mela performance where some of the Dance United Agency NI will be part of six hours of non-stop music, dance, food, and art, Azeem said: “Last year was our first time so we were still kind of playing it safe with five dancers and a small slot. This year we’re doubling our time slot with more dancers and a bigger budget.
“We will be doing more fusion dance, representing many cultures, like Bollywood, K-pop, Spanish and hip-hop to represent as many different cultures as possible so that everyone sees a piece of themselves on stage.”
The full programme for Mela Day, including a map for Botanic Gardens, is available at www.belfastmela.org.uk. To find out more about Dance United NI and future auditions you can follow their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
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