Lindsay Snedden

First Bite Adult Theatre at the Southside Community Centre

This is a mixed ability group catering for all those with an interest in drama and the performing arts. Participants have a say in what skills / themes are covered each term. The emphasis is on working together, presentation, communication and having fun.

Any drama class I have attended before has involved turning up, learning a part and performing it. It’s been all about the drama and not about the people in the group. I felt instantly comfortable when I joined this class. Even though other people have been here for years I felt included from the start. I was amazed there wasn’t a group chat already! You all seemed so close to each other!”
– Participant Feedback 2022

First Bite Youth Theatre was launched in 1994 as an outreach programme by First Bite Theatre in Education Company which toured productions and workshops to primary and secondary schools across Central Scotland and North West England.
Initially run from various venues across Edinburgh and Liverpool, the Youth Theatre moved to SSCC in 1998 where its weekly sessions have involved hundreds of young people ever since.

The Youth Theatre programme is annual. Each group starts by devising and scripting their own productions which are then rehearsed and developed through to public performances in March and May. The Junior and Senior groups also come together for a celebratory End of Year show each year in June.

“A fantastic adventure to be part of for 11 years of my life. Along the way I have made life long friends, gained skills and confidence and formed great memories that will stay with me forever.” – Participant Feedback / 2014

“What does First Bite mean to me? The world. For the past however many years… it’s been my Thursday afternoons, my social life and at times my whole life, and I’ve loved every minute of it. The people here aren’t my best friends, they are my family.” – Participant Feedback 2019

“…the highlight of the week for both my kids. They learn so much about all aspects of the theatre, not just the acting but also character development, script writing, stage and costume design, marketing, teamwork, and more. The last show was a triumph – an inspired script and amazing maturity from the young actors.” – Parent Feedback 2019

There is a long tradition of the Southside Community Centre supporting creative writing. I’ve facilitated its weekly group for two decades, following the late Sandy Craigie and Gabrielle Green. We meet for 2 hours (with coffee break) on Friday mornings. Members range from widely published authors to beginners, who meet on an equal footing to do short writing exercises in response to prompts supplied by me, suggested by members, or arising spontaneously from group discussion. Writers can then read out their work if they choose, and receive constructive feedback. We’re happy to be back at the Centre after two and half years on Zoom, when creative writing nonetheless kept group members connected.

Helen Boden, tutor

Edinburgh City Councillor Tim Pogson (Ward 15 – Southside / Newington) holds a regular Surgery offering advice about any aspect of the Council’s work, and signposting to other sources of advice and support.

“Please come and see me with any concern you might have about life in Southside. Primarily I can help with any concern related to the work of the Council, roads, transport, schools, waste collection, street cleansing, planning, greenspaces and parks, housing, social work and social care, but if you have other concerns you wish to raise I will always be happy to refer those to colleagues.”

MD Noor Alam (known as Rashid) moved to Edinburgh from Bangladesh 18 years ago and sees Edinburgh as his home.

Rashid has been involved in community activism for many years, being a volunteer with several different local charities, such as The Adult Learning Project, The Welcoming and the Leith Community Centre. He finds great pleasure in helping others and supporting those who want to help make Edinburgh a welcoming city for all.

In 2018 he was given The ‘Best Volunteer Award’ by the then Lord Provost, Frank Ross.

Before the Pandemic he was a regular user of the Edinburgh Southside Centre (Southside Community Centre). Rashid joined the Centre’s Management Committee because he want to help make the Centre a place where diverse communities can come together, have a cup of tea and get to know each other.

SCIO Governing ocument.pdf (480KB)

Taekwon-Do is so much more than a self-defence art. Taekwon-Do is a Way of Life and is a wonderful life changing journey which offers many benefits including health benefits and improved fitness as well as personal development.

The core values offered by Taekwon-Do will help us all to strive to be the Master of our own destiny. We believe that living life in a courteous, respectful, positive and supportive way makes the Taekwon-Do student a better and stronger person. The Tenets of Taekwon-Do are at the heart of every class. Courtesy, Integrity, Perseverance, Self-Control and Indomitable Spirit.

Your Taekwon-Do journey can begin at any age or life stage. Join us on this amazing adventure into the world of Martial Arts Training.

What is Taekwon-Do? Taekwon-Do is a Korean Martial art. The name was given to this fighting art on 11th April 1955 by General Choi Hong Hi. Taekwon-Do literally means Foot (Tae) Hand (Kwon) Art (Do) – the Art of Hand and Foot fighting.

The Southside group is is part of the United Kingdom Taekwon-Do Council (UKTC) which is affiliated to the world governing body World ITF Taekwon-Do Council (WITC). The UKTC is a member of the Scottish Council of Taekwon-Do (SCoT), one of the official governing bodies for Taekwon-Do in the United Kingdom. All our Instructors are fully qualified and insured to teach Taekwon-Do within the United Kingdom.

Begin the Taekwon-Do journey today and book a complimentary free trial lesson at Edinburgh Southside Centre.

Southside Orchestra. Image copyright Sheila Masson. https://www.sheilamasson.com/

Edinburgh’s only amateur orchestra that meets during the day.

In 2005 orchestra was offered, and accepted, a base at the South Side Community Centre in Nicolson Street, and took the new name of The South Side Community Orchestra. Since then, the South Side Community Centre has become the established venue for the orchestra’s regular Monday afternoon rehearsals and for the public concerts given each term.

Orchestra rehearsals are friendly and full of good humour. Vaughan Townhill our conductor has very realistic expectations of our abilities and recognises that we may not play every technically difficult passage perfectly.

Nila Joshi came to Scotland in 1975 as a young bride. Soon after arriving, she made Scotland her home.
Nila worked for city of Edinburgh council for 35 years as a library officer and retired in November 2022 to put her time into the community.

Over Last 20 years, she has been involved in women’s interfaith group in Edinburgh, which gave her opportunity to work with wider community and in recognition of this, and her other work,she was nominated for ‘Hidden Heroine’ award in 2004 award.

Edinburgh Southside Centre has been important to Nila for many years, and she became a Trustee in 2022 to help open the Centre’s doors to everyone.

Christoher Ludlam - Edinbrgh Southside Centre

Christopher Ludlam was born in Edinburgh and has lived most of his life in South Edinburgh. He is a University of Edinburgh graduate, and now a retired doctor having worked previously at the Royal Infirmary and the University. Christopher plays the violin in the Southside Community Orchestra.

Edinburgh Southside Centre - Committee Chair - Nahid Aslam

Nahid was born in Edinburgh. Her parents came from Pakistan in the 1960s. She describes herself as a Punjabi Scot.

Nahid has been involved in community relations for over 30 years. Her first encounter with multiculturalism was when she volunteered with the YWCA Roundabout Centre as a summer school helper. Nahid has worked with a number of community groups over the years, including The Welcoming, ALP, ELREC and Linknet Mentoring.

Nahid joined the Edinburgh Southside Centre Board in March 2022 and has enjoyed being part of the Community Centre. She would like to see the Edinburgh Southside Centre develop into a hub for community engagement, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to share and learn from each other.

Tucum Capoeira Edinburgh at the Southside Community Centre

Capoeira incorporates diverse movements, gymnastics and physical conditioning. As well as being an amazingly rewarding and fun activity, the practice of Capoeira develops excellent fitness. Practitioners work on their body strength and flexibility, mobility, coordination and balance. Student’s learn how to control their bodies and respond to their parter movements in the form of a game of attack and defence. Capoeira is excellent way to build/re-build/re-wire ones perceptions of self. It promotes discipline, hard work and stepping out of one’s comfort zone. There is scientific evidence on Capoeira helping people to improve/rebuild their self-confidence and help with stress relief which makes it a perfect activity to take part in after a busy day.

Capoeira is very inclusive. A very famous quote from one of the Capoeira masters says:

“Capoeira is for everyone who wishes to learn it”.

One of the most unique aspects of Tucum Capoeira Edinburgh is that it tries to be more of a community that gathers people with similar passion and builds a bond rather than a sport club. We believe it is important more than ever to build and nurture strong relationships between people.

“To move forward community and neighborhoods have to engage a larger world rather than build existing walls ever higher. Community has to be a process, not an object; a verb, not a noun”

“The word Community is like the word Love -its a thing we do together.”

“Community isn’t just who we are, it’s what we DO“

“Community is something I do not take lightly. People don’t serendipitously stumble into real community with each other. We work at it. We build it. We do community.“

“… a community isn’t just about identity, it’s about action”

“Community is something I do not take lightly. People don’t serendipitously stumble into real community with each other. We work at it. We build it. We do community“

“Community is a creative process , it’s creative because it’s a process of integrating”

“When we think of community as a noun, we miss the very thing that makes it vibrant and alive with possibility.
Community, done right, is a verb”

Summer Drama brings together 10 – 18 year olds from around Edinburgh for the first two weeks of the school holidays. Participants work every morning from 9.30 – 12.30 to develop an original production which is performed on the final night of the project. There are also a series of optional afternoon workshops for participants who are interested in learning more about Voice Technique, Choreography, Directing, and Set/Prop Making.

It seems scary, because you don’t know where to start and there can be so many different ideas and you don’t know how to put them together. But once you do start, it becomes much easier, especially when you have a base for your story. Also, you don’t have to do all the writing. Explaining your ideas is enough! They will turn it into something great! I loved, loved, loved it! – Participant Feedback 2022

I just wanted to say again how wonderful the performance was last night. Our girls were super-engaged and loved it, that was clear, and we loved seeing how it all came together and how everyone worked with each other as a team. Now they’re hooked on drama and want to do more, which is such a lovely tribute. I can also see how much both of our children have grown in confidence and what the voice projection has done in pushing them out of their comfort zone and letting them experience what is possible. – Parent Feedback 2022

The Cafe is available for hire outside cafe operating hours (currently Mon – Fri, 9am – 2pm) and can be used for meetings and activities like social gatherings, playing card games. Read More

Southside Community Centre – Indian Dance Night

On the first floor, the Main Hall can be used for conferences, events, wedding receptions, graduations, concerts, dances, birthday parties and a variety of games and sports. Some sports equipment can be provided, just enquire to confirm availability. Read More

Room 2 is mainly used for meetings or classes and has a capacity of up to 16 people with tables, and 20-25 without tables. Read More

A multipurpose room that can be used for meetings, small conferences, drama classes, language classes and children’s groups. Read More

Southside Community Centre

0131 667 0484

Lindsay Snedden

0131 667 0484