Hello! It’s Rachel and Siôned! We are artists and are part of the Youth 2000 mission team! We are fundraising for Youth 2000 with ‘An Afternoon of Music and Dance’ and will be presenting to you a wonderful performance collaborating our passions.

For all donations up to £35,000, made before the end of August 2024, Youth 2000 will have them matched by a generous donor - doubling their impact! So this is such an incredible opportunity for us to help out to fundraise!

Siôned Jones-Blanco

Siôned Jones-Blanco began her musical endeavours at the age of two, on the piano, but at the age of seven, she became keen to learn the flute, and fell in love with it right away. Siôned enjoys a huge variety of musical genres, however, she am particularly interested in 19th and 20th century orchestral music. Last year, she was successful in obtaining a scholarship at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she will commence my undergraduate studies in September, she then hopes to pursue a career in the orchestral field. Aside from music, she is involved in international Christian missionary work all over the world, loves going out for long walks, cooking, and reading theology and classic literature.

Siôned first became involved with the Youth 2000 Mission Team around 12 months ago after a profound experience with Jesus in the Eucharist at her first retreat last summer; a retreat that dramatically changed her life. She loves to find ways to express my faith through her love for music, and hope to inspire others to do the same.

Rachel Yan Ting Li

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel is a Freelance Dance Artist in Contemporary/Ballet, Choreographer and Educator based in Manchester.

She trained at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and toured nationally with Emergence Dance Company, where she graduated with Distinction in MA Dance Performance and Professional Practices under the Salford International Excellence Award from the University of Salford.

As a versatile dance artist, she has worked with various artists and companies, including Let’s All Dance Ballet Company touring ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Swan Lake Highlights’ with Mercury Strings, ‘Disunited Jukebox’, an original contemporary opera with Company Carpi, Joss Arnott Dance, Christopher Bruce CBE, Thick and Tight, Walk The Plank, Ruth Jones, Ludus Dance. She was also a movement director for Jasmin Thien’s ‘I Dream in Colour’ in 2023 and an assistant choreographer for Manchester Parade in 2022.

A strong believer in sharing the power of dance with different communities. Rachel is also an Outreach Dance Artist for The Lowry (Centre For Advanced Training), Teaching Team for Springs Dance Company and Hope Mill Theatre Hub.

Youth 2000 to Rachel is an incredible community! She first got involved with Youth 2000 in 2022 and has been involved with the Mission Team since last year. She is grateful that she gets to continue to grow in faith and community through the Discipleship Team this year. As a strong believer in the youth, she also serves on The Ascent and is a member of the Youth 2000 Manchester Holy Hour Team.

About Youth 2000

Youth 2000 offers retreats, festivals, local groups and formation programmes for 16-35 year olds. It creates opportunities for young people to both connect with other young Catholics, and with Christ and His Church.