RJC Dance and Mango Carnival Arts launch 'Tighten Yuh Belt' Carnival Band, which will be appearing at Rotterdam ZomerCarnaval and Leeds West Indian Carnival 2009.

Tighten Yuh Belt Carnival Band

Carnival Partners beat recession to perform at Rotterdam Carnival

A unique Carnival Arts Partnership, based in Chapeltown, is taking an unusual route to Leeds Carnival this year - via Rotterdam, Holland!

Success at Leeds Carnival in recent years gave Partners RJC Dance and Mango Carnival Arts a burning ambition to take their unique Carnival formula on tour, despite feeling the pinch, just like most Arts organisations in the UK.

Rhian Kempadoo Millar, Artistic Director of Mango, said "The combination of Mango's contemporary, stylish costumes and RJC Dancers' energetic, enthusiastic performance on Carnival day has won lots of prizes at Leeds Carnival. We wanted to take our work to a wider audience, but we knew that it would be difficult to find the necessary financial support during a recession, so we kept our heads down and just carried on working towards our goal"

The theme for this year's performance, 'Tighten Yuh Belt', is their joint creative response to the pressures of global recession and climate change. Young male dancers will portray the demise of the City gent archetype, with highly stylized bowler hats, pinstripes and umbrellas, whilst the female dancers portray the impact of the recession on ordinary citizens, the Arts, and Carnival Arts in costumes which would grace any catwalk. The Project is pioneering a sustainable approach to Carnival Arts, which includes using recycled materials and ethical processes, and running workshops on sustainable living.

The Partners were overjoyed when the project won financial backing from Arts Council England. Kathy Williams, Development Director at RJC Dance said "we feel proud to be able to offer this fantastic opportunity to our dancers, to perform at such a prestigious event as the Rotterdam Zomer Carnaval. We are all so excited, the atmosphere at rehearsals has been brilliant! "

The ambitious project will also link with Leeds College of Art, providing work experience to local Students. Head of School, Simon Thorpe, said, 'we are delighted to help with this project.'

Rotterdam ZomerCarnaval Parade is on Saturday 25th July 2009
Leeds West Indian Carnival Parade is on Monday 31st August 2009