This Hip-hop crew offers youth freedom of movement. And freedom of spirit too.
Words by Laura Schober
The sight of about 20 young adults dancing in bright t-shirts, black sweats and sneakers rehearsing for a performance at the Living Arts Centre is enough to put a smile on your face. They are the diverse members of the faith-based Hip Hop dance group, I Rock with the One, and this is their story.
Although they all live in Mississauga now, almost every member of the group was born in another country, including 25-year-old Freddie Buen, an Italian-born immigrant who has also lived in Melbourne, Australia. “I come from a very dark and real street history…it’s hard to get out of that.” Freddy cites his experiences with I Rock with the One adding that—“It’s liberated me.”
Freddy found the will to leave behind his former life of gangs, street violence and drugs in Melbourne and since moving to Mississauga and joining the dance group; he credits his newfound belief in God for keeping him out of trouble. Freddy now knows Mississauga extremely well, travelling to over two dozen schools across the city helping with I Rock with the One’s outreach programs and dance workshops.
The group was founded in 2009 by professional dancer Ron Pagcaliwagan, 29, and their name means ‘I’m always with God’. However Pagcaliwagan is quick to say that the group welcomes people of all beliefs and backgrounds. Ron is also a youth outreach and volunteer coordinator at The Gateway Centre for New Canadians. Their dance workshops aim to encourage youth into becoming a positive force in their communities after discussions on character building, self-disciplinary life skills and mentorship programs. Dance performance is actually secondary—before they can perform in the group, members must participate in school and community outreach programs and commit to practicing good study habits.
Ron knows of what he speaks to. When he was in high school, he became involved with “a group of friends with negative intentions” who introduced him to theft, drugs, vandalism and gang violence. He cites this as the result of having no role model during those years. Though that lifestyle is now in his past, this personal experience has been a driving factor towards the group’s commitment to provide mentorship. “A lot of the time, most of these kids don’t have a mentor,” says Pagcaliwagan. “So we’re trying to provide that by using our experience, our abilities and our skills to inspire them to do the positive things that we’re doing.”
Estelle Padilla and Kim Mercado (both I Rock with the One dancers) moved to Canada from the Philippines a few years ago. They joined the group after attending an outreach workshop at their school, St. Martin’s Secondary. “It’s not really about the competition and the performance,” says Padilla, 16. “It’s more like hanging out with them, because they are like a family to me and they really got my back whenever I need them.” When asked what they like best about Canada, Mercado doesn’t skip a beat. “It’s the free thing,” says Mercado, 15, before trailing off and saying, “I don’t know how to say it.” After a split second, Padilla agrees with her friend’s thought, “The freedom.”
The promise of freedom has brought so many immigrants to Mississauga, but the reality of that freedom has resulted in broken dreams for some. Gateway’s Executive Director, Julius A. Tiangson has seen disillusioned newcomers walk through the doors of Gateway many times. An immigrant himself, Tiangson came to Canada from the Philippines before settling in Saskatoon in 1985. His spiritual nature and belief in the importance of social action has framed his life’s mission to help those in need; in fact, he worked in Saskatoon for many years as a minister before he moved to Mississauga with his wife and three children in 2000. But once he arrived in Ontario, it didn’t take long for Tiangson to notice that many immigrants were having trouble adjusting to city life in Canada.
“For the most part, I think many newcomers are very motivated and highly-skilled individuals,” says Tiangson, “but when they come to a city like this, they don’t know anyone, so trying to figure out where they belong is a big issue.”
As of the 2006 Canadian census, just over half of people living in Mississauga were born in another country, distinguishing it as a city that is home to the third-highest foreign-born population in Canada.
With such a high population of newcomers, Tiangson saw there was a need for the city to provide more services that would help immigrants at every life stage, whether it was to help them find meaningful work or understand more about Canadian culture. Feeling compelled to help those who were struggling to fit in, Tiangson invited members of the immigrant community to take part in faith-based discussions at his home. As they sat around Tiangson’s kitchen table, talks soon progressed to the idea of founding a settlement centre that would provide community programs and integration services for immigrants of all ages. That idea soon came to fruition in The Gateway Centre for New Canadians and seven years later they are the producers of arguably the most unique dance company in Mississauga.