- Home
- What's happening
- News
- Dancing through lockdowns
When Melbourne first went into lockdown in 2020, many community groups and organisations needed to adapt to a new way of delivering their activities. It was no different for Nepalese women's group Didi Bahini Samaj, who needed to find a new way to deliver their weekly dance class.
Executive member Nirmala Nyaupane explained, “Our dance classes are really important for our community, for physical health and mental wellbeing. With the lockdowns during COVID, we weren’t able to meet face-to-face but we wanted to keep people motivated and connected.”
The group knew that they needed to go online, so they started virtual dance classes for men and women, guided by volunteer dance teacher Ranjan Vaidya.
“My love for dancing came in handy during the lockdown. We ran three sessions each week where we practiced a variety of dances styles from Nepalese to Spanish and Bollywood. All online dance sessions offered were completely free. What started as a small group of family and friends quickly grew to around 40 participants!” Ranjan says.
Despite sometimes slow internet speeds and a lack of physical environment, there was no shortage of keen participants. One of the participants who works in the health industry even joined the session during her recesses from her hospital job, so she didn’t miss the week’s dance move!
“I choose simple steps and choreograph the moves to suit the participants who vary in age and dance experience. We even organised an online performance for the Nepalese festival 'Teej', a festival celebrated by women all over Nepal each August.”
“A virtual class certainly kept us connected but post lockdown, being able to meet face-to-face and dance together is amazing. The atmosphere of the room is simply fantastic... big smiles, a keenness to learn, positive energy and lots of laughter. I really enjoy contributing to the wellbeing of the community.”
Share
What's happening
-
Events, activities and festivals
- Festivals and civic events
- A Very Aussie Christmas
- Brass Monkeys – School Holiday Feature Show
- Celtic Reflections Australia
- Come N Try Carers Exercise Class
- Crucial COVID conversations for businesses
- Help create an important piece of art
- Holding a community event
- Introduction to Mindfulness for Carers
- Jewellery making
- Jugg Life School Holiday Feature Show
- Money information for women - superannuation and insurance
- Money information for women – avoiding scams
- Money information for women – budgets and bills
- Money information for women – managing debt
- Money information for women – planning your future
- Movie day – Senior Movement
- Online Event: "Always a Work in Progress"
- Pavarotti — King of the High Cs Featuring David Rogers Smith
- Protecting your rights as you get older (online)
- Reducing your household waste workshop
- Reducing your household waste workshop
- Swinging on a Star – The Songs of Frank Sinatra and the ‘Golden Rat Pack’ Era
- The Amazing Travelling Comedy Tour
- The Beatles Show Presented by Rubber Soul
- The Songs of Judy Garland
- Tusk – The Storybook Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
- Virtual Carols by Candlelight
- Have Your Say
-
News
- A facelift for some of our outdoor artworks
- Allergen training for food businesses
- Art installations at Stamford Park (and win a picnic!)
- Biodiversity Month
- Carols by Candlelight program announced
- Carols goes online
- Christmas and New Year's opening hours
- City Nature Challenge 2022
- Cr Susan Laukens elected Knox Mayor
- Feeling the pinch because of COVID?
- Fire Danger Period begins Monday 10 January
- Free money information sessions for women
- Get fed and vaccinated at the same time
- Good Food Good Mood
- Help create an important piece of art
- Help us tackle graffiti
- How are you...really?
- Knox Festival Twilight Program
- Knox Festival returns for 2022
- Last chance to nominate an everyday hero
- Learn about composting
- Learn how to get older without getting 'old'
- Look out for art in unexpected places!
- Lower your carbon footprint and reduce energy bills
- Mental health webinars for different groups in Knox
- New home for outdoor dining pod
- Only 4 weeks left to nominate a local hero
- Protecting our green areas and significant spaces
- Recycling right for National Recycling Week
- Revitalising Boronia
- Shout out for young voices
- Supporting carers in Knox
- Supporting our tradies
- Understanding controlling behaviour in relationships
- Working to reduce gambling harm
-
Arts in Knox
- Community Art Projects
-
Immerse
- About Immerse
-
Artists and Installations
- Carla O'Brien – I AM HERE
- Carolyn Menzies – Carbon Cocoonery
- Clara Chan – Posthuman Convergence
- Fausto Gallego – Moving Forward
- Giordano Biondi – The Folds
- Gretel Taylor – Restless
- Hayden Dewar – Shelter
- Hsin Lin – Blossoms of Life
- Jack Tar & Co. – Atmosphere Absolute
- LUCIANO – Spinning Yarns
- Lynn Berry – Winter Garden
- Marc Savoia – Nothing Between Us
- Marc Savoia – Wunderkammer
- Marshall Arts Club - Glitch Garden
- Mikaela Stafford – SmokeScreen
- Molly Stephenson – Spaces of reflection between parts
- Natalie Wijeyeratne – Flagship I and Flagship II
- Nicholas Barker and Jessica Tanto – Please Take One
- Rebecca George – R > 1 Covid 19
- Rebecca Westlund – Acts of Hope
- Sara Catena – Shrine of the Sacred Self
- Simone Melville – Eden
- Simone Thomson – Wala Yapaneyeput, Water Together
- Sonia Zymantas – Involuntary Memories
- Soyoun Kim – ID Photo Poster
- Susannah Langley and Farnaz Dadfar with Warren Armstrong – VOID-ATRIUM
- Toshi Handa – Monument of Respect
- Wendy Yu – Acts of Holding Dance
- Wesley Dowling – Network
- Immerse 2021 highlights
- Knox art collection
- Public Art in Knox
- Major projects and initiatives
- Community groups and volunteering
- Explore Knox
-
Event Calendar
- Advanced Care Planning – Upper Ferntree Gully
- Allergen training for food businesses webinar
- Armchair travel stories – Tasmania
- Backyard wildlife habitat box webinar
- Bayswater Christmas Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bayswater Makers Market
- Bright Ideas Network meeting
- Bright Ideas Network meeting
- Building Aboriginal cultural competency workshop
- Child Safe: Overview of the National Principles
- Committee Succession Planning: Attracting the Right Volunteers
- Community Events: Make It Happen!
- Dealing with feelings: for parents and caregivers of teenagers
- Disability Awareness and Engagement: Making your group or club more accessible
- Emerging and revisioning with a plan (workshop)
- Escape from Trash Mountain
- Fever -The Songs of Peggy Lee
- Game Boys Cinematic Universe
- Grant writing workshop
- Green cleaning workshop
- Guided bird watching
- Guided frog watching
- Guided fungi walk
- Gully Gardeners: Keeping Chickens with Ella from Chooktopia
- Habitat boxes for suburban wildlife workshop
- Hard to Reach Places by Anna Lumb
- Healthy Lunchboxes - A workshop for kids and parents
- Healthy Lunchboxes - A workshop for kids and parents
- Healthy Lunchboxes - A workshop for kids and parents
- Insect discovery walk
- Introduction to Mindfulness - short course
- It Might As Well Be Spring
- It's Time - The Australian Michael Bublé Show
- Keeping Chickens Workshop
- Love your clothes workshop
- Mindfulness and compassion
- Mindfulness and the body
- Mindfulness and the senses
- National Sorry Day ceremony
- Pension information session
- Pot-Pourri Presents Christmas on Broadway
- Preparing your garden for a bumper Spring harvest
- Reducing food waste workshop
- Reducing your household waste workshop
- Reducing your household waste workshop
- Reducing your household waste workshop
- Songs and stories by Kutcha Edwards
- Soup and Singing
- Sustainable scrumptious snacks
- Sustainable scrumptious snacks
- Sustainable scrumptious snacks
- Swinging on a Star with Kane Alexander
- The Alphabet of Awesome Science
- Tie Dye Workshop (school holiday workshop)
- Too Peas in a Podcast - Carers Event
- Knox eNews