Oldham and Tameside dance heritage project seeks local stories

Dance Heritage

Dancing Threads will collect stories, memories, images and artefacts linked to dance traditions including Morris and South Asian dance.

The project is being coordinated by Mossley arts organisation Global Grooves. Material gathered will be used for an exhibition, a public celebration event and a digital archive.

Free oral history training will be offered to volunteers, who can help record interviews, research artefacts, organise materials and support the archive.

Global Grooves wants to hear from people linked to local dance traditions, including community members, group leaders, long time participants and musicians.

The project will also explore links with mill heritage, migration and wider global histories.

Creative practitioners can also express interest in responding to the collected material. Around eight small commissions and one larger £5,000 commission are available.

Dancing Threads will end with an exhibition and public event at The Vale arts centre in Mossley in April 2027.

Project manager Tor Lysaght said “Dancing Threads is a unique and exciting project that will shine a light on the people, memories and lived experiences of dance communities over generations.”

The project follows The Worker Becomes Queen, a Global Grooves programme involving local artists and performers in a cultural exchange with partners in Barcelona.

Funding support has been provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.