Personal Development: Dance for Health and Wellbeing

Over the eight weeks we will develop a new dance together as well as learning sequences and dances from different cultures. The emphasis will be on enjoyment and wellbeing.

Each class will be made up of:

Active warm ups, setting up rhythm, moving to rhythm, follow instructions, raising heart rate

Warming up the joints, in readiness for dancing, Alignment and breathing exercise, for posture, alignment and strength.

Swing/weight release exercises, for strength alignment and balance.

Feet and pliers, for strengthening and correct use of feet and knees

Dance Sequences –begin to learn a short sequence of steps, helping memory and coordination

Introducing creative ideas, and improvisation.

BBC's Michael Mosley's ('Just One Thing' podcasts) reported "....dance is linked to reduced risk of stroke or heart attack, ...... dancing can also have an impact on our mental health, when scientists looked at 40 studies, involving dance movement therapy, they found that dance reduces anxiety, depression, and improves quality of life and improves cognitive skills...."