Dancing Threads is a unique and exciting new heritage project from Global Grooves exploring the dance, textile and cultural traditions that connect communities across Oldham, Tameside and Greater Manchester.
From Morris dancing in mill towns to South Asian folk traditions carried through migration, this project brings together stories of movement, making and memory – past and present.
We’re just getting started, and we’d love you to be part of it.
Across Greater Manchester, dance traditions have long been part of everyday life – on streets, in community halls, at festivals and celebrations.
These traditions are shaped by:
Like the connections uncovered in our Cotton Culture project – linking mills, people and culture , Dancing Threads explores how these histories are still alive and well today linking traditons through dance and making.
We’re particularly interested in:
Much of this heritage exists in people, not in archives.
It lives in:
But it is often:
Over the course of the project, we’ll be:
We will grow over time – shaped by the people who take part.
Dancing Threads is about capturing, sharing and reimagining these traditions – so they continue to evolve and remain meaningful today.
Are you interested in local history, heritage, storytelling or community research? Global Grooves is looking for volunteers to help gather and document these important stories. Volunteers will receive training in oral history documentation methods and will support the recording of interviews, organisation of materials and development of the project archive.
We’re seeking people connected to local dance traditions such as Morris dancing or South Asian dance in Oldham, Tameside and surrounding areas. This includes community members, group leaders, long-time participants and musicians who have stories or memories connected to these practices, as well as to the region’s industrial mill heritage and wider global histories.
We invite expressions of interest from visual artists and creative practitioners who wish to respond to the collected stories and materials. Selected artists will help shape the final artistic outcomes of the project, including the outdoor exhibition and public presentation of the archive at The Vale, Mossley.
Find out more and be part of it
Whether you have a long connection to these traditions or are discovering them for the first time, Dancing Threads is about building something together.
"*" indicates required fields
Pop your email address in the box here and we’ll send you updates about our work, including how to get involved. We promise we won’t inundate your inbox, but you will be able to unsubscribe at any time.
Pop your email address in the box here and we’ll send you updates about our work, including how to get involved. We promise we won’t inundate your inbox, but you will be able to unsubscribe at any time.
