Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Dancing Lions Chinese

  • Maidstone Welcomes the Year of the Snake with Vibrant Lunar New Year Celebrations

    Maidstone Welcomes the Year of the Snake with Vibrant Lunar New Year Celebrations

    Maidstone Welcomes the Year of the Snake with Vibrant Lunar New Year Celebrations

    Maidstone marked the arrival of the Year of the Snake with a spectacular Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday 1st February. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is the most significant traditional celebration for many East and Southeast Asian cultures. It signifies the start of the lunar calendar year and is typically observed with family reunions, feasts, and cultural traditions aimed at bringing good luck, health, and prosperity for the year ahead.

    The event, produced by Cohesion Plus and Kent Equality Council in partnership with the Maidstone Cultural Group and Maidstone Borough Council, brought together communities to celebrate this important occasion.

    The festivities commenced on Jubilee Square with a traditional ‘Dotting of the Eyes’ ceremony, a symbolic ritual that awakens the Dancing Lions. The ceremony was led by Michael Lam, a member of the Maidstone Cultural Group and a local business owner, alongside Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL, CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council. They were joined by special guests, including Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Andrew Wood and Mayor of Maidstone Cllr John Perry.

    Following the ceremony, the Dancing Lions took centre stage, captivating the crowds with their energetic and mesmerizing movements. The artistic program continued with a range of performances, including the SOAS Chinese Music Ensemble, who enchanted audiences with traditional Shanghai Tea Room melodies, and award-winning dancer Zihan Liu, who delivered a series of exquisite performances inspired by Chinese theatre.

  • Maidstone Community Mela 2019

    Maidstone Community Mela 2019

    The Maidstone Community Mela in Whatman Park again proved to be popular with over 3000 attending the annual celebration of music, food and dance from around the world. The Mela which is organised by a small group of community partners and volunteers led by Kent Equality Cohesion Council, the Maidstone Cultural Group and Cohesion Plus has proven to be popular in the borough since 2003 despite the many challenges it has faced over recent years.

    The celebrations were formally launched by the Mayor of Maidstone Cllr Marian Ring, Deputy Lord Lieutenant Bill Cockcroft and Kent Equality Cohesion Council CEO Gurvinder Sandher. Those in attendance enjoyed a range of culturally diverse performances including Kent based Phase 5 Steel Band, Folk Band Ukelear Fallout, Maidstone Nepalese Community Group, Maidstone Malayalee Group and Kitka Bulgarian Folk Dance Troupe.

    A Particular highlight was the Cohesion Plus produced Folkin Fusion Collective a high energy show bringing together music and dance from North India and Southern Africa which featured Four by Four Bhangra and Uzambezi Arts. The Mela was headlined by the Kings of Motown who had everyone up and dancing to the classic Motown hits.

    Whilst off stage the arts activity continued with interactive performances by the Chinese Lions, interactive workshops in the World in the Tent which focused on Nepalese and Roma culture and heritage, and for the younger members of the audience there were free arts workshops delivered by LV21.

    The food stalls also proved to be very popular with Indian, Chinese, Nepalese cuisines being served alongside burgers, doughnuts and hot dogs with many selling out whilst the Prosecco bar also did brisk trade.

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council CEO Gurvinder Sandher commented “I am very proud of what we achieved in Maidstone this year. People do not always appreciate how small the team is that puts the Mela on, but all the hard work is worthwhile when you get so many people turning up and supporting us. The Maidstone Community Mela I believe is very important for Maidstone, its ethos is to use food, music and dance to bring communities together and celebrate all that binds us together. The Mela was set up in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and its message is just as important today as it was in 2003 when we first started. I have been involved with the Mela from the start and I am very keen to develop it further next year and we are keen to take it back to Mote Park if we can get a date and also raise the necessary funding.”

  • Gravesham Fusion Festival Proves Popular

    Gravesham Fusion Festival Proves Popular

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council were proud to be partners for the Fusion Festival which came to Gravesend Town Centre on Saturday June 15. The pop up street festival showcased a range of artists and art forms including a roaming elephant, dancing lions, mime artists, samba, bhangra, brass, choir and calypso.

    The aim of the festival was to bring culturally diverse arts to the heart of local communities and to showcase new performances especially in an area like Gravesham which has had traditionally low levels of engagement with the arts.

    The Festival also saw the premiere of Cohesion Plus’s new production working with Festive Road the “Dancing Maharaja’s“. Other highlights included performances by Bloco Fogo Samba, No Street Limit Band, Dancing Chinese Lions and the Rock Choir as well as stilt walkers, mime artists and LV21 who delivered interactive arts workshops for young people.

    The festival was organised by Cohesion Plus working in partnership with Kent Equality Cohesion Council, and was supported by Gravesham Borough Council and Arts Council England.