Dancer in bid to get young people rowing
HE has travelled with world during a fascinating career taking in America, Thailand, Nepal and Dubai.
But now Miki Lee Dale is back in Glasgow and using his skills to help young people in the East End of Glasgow.
The dancer and yoga practitioner is also a skilled rower and works with disadvantaged youths and the LGBT community to encourage them in sport.
He works with a variety of organisations, including PEEK, FAIR and housing associations.
Miki Lee said: “Rowing is seen as elitist but it’s really community based and welcoming.
“It is interesting for young people to step into a world they think isn’t theirs.”
Miki Lee grew up in Faifley, Clydebank, in the 1980s where, he said, young boys did not get much opportunity to dance.
He went to Manchester to study nutrition and while there joined a theatre youth group. A choreographer working with the group told him he should pursue dance.
Miki Lee said: “So I moved to New York – jumped in head first.”
Following a stint in America, Miki Lee moved to Nottingham and worked in schools.
He then auditioned for the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance (SSCD), then worked for Scottish Dance Theatre.
Yoga was part of the syllabus there and Miki Lee wanted to study it further so he moved to Thailand for six months then lived in Dubai for a year setting up a yoga studio.
From there went to work for Circus Kathmandu in Nepal and was living there when the 2015 earthquake happened.
Miki Lee ended up with post-traumatic stress disorder so came back to Glasgow to recuperate.
He found he needed something to occupy himself, and began rowing with Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club. He then set up a new rowing club in Firhill to get more young people involved.
Through his work with LGBT Youth Scotland and LEAP Sports, he has strived to break down barriers that exist for the LGBT community i n sport.
Now Miki Lee has scooped the Young Person’s Coach of the Year Award from SportScotland’s Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards
He added: “LGBT young people often feel excluded from sport for a variety of reasons and so it’s important to make sure they know that there is a space for them to take part.
“I’m really taken aback to win this award.
“It’s just what I love doing.”