Woodberry Down Disco turns WhatsApp group into a dancefloor

A free community dance project has launched in Woodberry Down, offering residents a chance to turn up, dance — or not dance — and meet the neighbours they have only ever met in a group chat.

Woodberry Down Disco held its first session on 12 September, opening the estate’s annual Hidden River Festival, and returns tomorrow at the pavilion at the Redmond Community Centre on Kayani Avenue, N4. Sessions run from midday to 2pm and admission is free.

The project is the work of Nirmala Kesumadewi, a Woodberry Down resident who found herself in a residents’ WhatsApp group numbering in the thousands. 

The group gave her a strong sense of connection to the area, she says, but also made plain how many of her neighbours she had never actually met — and how readily plans for real-life meet-ups fall through. 

The disco was her answer to a simple question: what if people could just show up, without having to organise anything themselves?

“Woodberry Down is such a massive community, I think this whole thing started because I wanted to get to know my neighbours. I wanted to create something free and low-stakes, where people could just drop in, drop out, get to know each other and join in, or not, without any pressure,” Nirmala told the Citizen.

“The discos are a way to make space for neighbours to connect through music, movement and culture, in whatever way feels right for them.”

Superheroes

Each session includes accessible dances, but there is no expectation to join in. Participants can dance however they like, or sit and watch. 

Seated areas and lower-energy activities run alongside the dancing, together with a library, arts and crafts, and storytelling built around each session’s theme. Recent sessions have taken in Azonto, the Ghanaian dance style – and Superheroes is next.

The disco also puts money into local pockets. Woodberry Down residents are employed to help run the sessions, with another resident engaged to lead a salsa session.

Kesumadewi’s longer-term ambition goes beyond social dancing. She hopes to bring together residents who want to develop their skills and work together, with the eventual aim of forming a resident-led professional dance company — so that Woodberry Down Disco becomes known both for its drop-in events and for a performing group of its own.

Woodberry Down Disco is one of nine projects supported by Hackney Council’s Cultures of Hackney fund in 2026, which backs cultural activity rooted in local communities.

Woodberry Down Disco
At the pavilion at the Redmond Community Centre, Kayani Avenue, N4 2HF
Saturday 19 September, 12pm–2pm, free.
A further date in October is expected.