Learning Disabilities & Autism News

What a difference a Dave makes!

DanceSyndrome is excited to be launching a new Zoom dance session aimed at waking up the nation! Popular DanceSyndrome dancers David Darcy and David Corr are offering a free 30 minute dance workout at 9am every weekday for the next two weeks.

Funding from Arts Council England and Community Foundation for Lancashire has enabled the charity to support the online work of Dance Leaders with learning disabilities, like David Corr, during the COVID-19 lockdown. This session called Wake N Dance with DanceSyndrome’s Daves is a fun and accessible inclusive dance and fitness session to help you to wake up, get moving and have a good time. The sessions will start on Monday 13th July and run until Friday 24th July. If there is enough demand  after that they will continue throughout the summer.

DanceSyndrome is a multi-award winning dance charity that delivers inclusive dance workshops and dance leadership training, as well as inspiring performances that demonstrate a focus on ability rather than disability. The charity was founded by Jen Blackwell, who happens to have Down’s syndrome, because she found it difficult to find opportunities in community dance due to her disability. DanceSyndrome’s ethos is that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams. Dancers with and without disabilities work together to inspire people to see what can be achieved when we all become more inclusive.

DanceSyndrome supports many vulnerable adults across Lancashire who are currently shielding due to the COVID-19 outbreak.  At present, it is unclear when people will be able to return to their regular community dance sessions so the charity had to adapt quickly and with a view to online sessions becoming the norm for most of 2020. The DanceSyndrome team wanted to limit the impact of isolation on participants and continue to make them feel a part of what they refer to as “the dancing family”. Since lockdown began they have delivered many workshops online using Facebook, YouTube and Zoom to bring the sessions to regular participants and anyone else who wanted to use them to stay active at home during isolation.

DanceSyndrome MD Dawn Vickers said, “Our “Dancing Daves”  are such a great team and we know they will bring a smile to the faces of so many people through these sessions. What better way to start your day than dancing and smiling? These online sessions are designed to bring a bit of normality and fun into people’s lives at a challenging time. We know people are starting to go out into the world again but that can be very anxiety provoking, especially for people with a learning disability, so we want to help people to start their day in the right way with an activity that is great for positive mental health!”

If you would like to find out more about the sessions, please visit www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/events

 

 

Kirsty

Email Newsletter

Twitter