World Youth Dance Crew comprises 60 members from 12 different countries
Performing before hundreds of thousands of people is always a special experience, but the experience was even more uplifting and exhilarating as it took place at the recent World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon.
The World Youth Dance Crew had the privilege of performing at multiple events at three cities during the WYD, an event which will be unforgettable for Melrick John Fernandes of Swindon, UK, the founder and group leader of the dance troupe.
“The performances were at Porto (July 26-28), Coimbra (July 29) and Lisbon (August 1-4). Each performance was for about 30 minutes which included crowd interaction. Some dances were in collaboration with artistes like Joe Melendrez, Missionario Shalom, Elton Rey, etc.”
“The World Youth Dance Crew comprises 15 Goans and 45 other youth from 12 different countries. We have our members in Panama, Nigeria, UAE, Canada, USA, Bahamas, India, Indonesia, Ireland, France, Poland and UK. We are still looking for youth who are interested in dancing for the Lord,” said Fernandes, who hails from Reis Magos.
Asked how the World Youth Dance Crew got to perform at the WYD, Fernandes said: “Well, our journey started in 2019 at the last World Youth Day in Panama. We met youth like us who are interested in dancing for the Lord.”
“Since then, we have been connecting with youth from different parts of the world who like to dance for the Lord. Following this, we were selected and invited to perform for World Youth Day at Lisbon as well.”
Recalling his team's experience while performing before hundreds of thousands of youth, Fernandes said it was a blessing to see their dance being appreciated and loved by many nationalities.
“Just dancing for the Lord made us feel humble, loved and moreover, motivated to do more for the Lord,” said Fernandes.
To a query on their preparation for the event, Fernandes said they had never met each other in person before the WYD in Portugal.
“We used social media to connect and do something. We had a bagful of choreographies of all the dance covers we had done for many religious artists, so that was of good use and rest was left to God!”
Narrating the genesis of his dance group, Fernandes said the team is a little over four years old.
“We started by dancing in local parishes in the UAE. From there, a dance cover of the World Youth Day went viral, and the next thing was that we were performing in front of the Pope.”
“Since then, we noticed that there was no platform for dancers in the Catholic church, so we jumped out to create one from different countries and been blessed with our Spiritual Director, Fr Martin Esguerra based in USA.”
When asked about his future plans, Fernandes said he hopes to grow the team in the UK.
“In the long run, I hope to have dance schools teaching worship dance all around,” he said.
