Keep Positive, Keep Dancing
A Wellbeing Wednesday Blog Post from the BCU Team
As the days stretch on during lockdown, each day a new challenge to motivate yourself, to keep positive, healthy and happy, it’s important to find moments in your day that bring you some relief and joy. It’s now well known that dancing is one of the best forms of exercise, and with its transforming effects on both the mind and body, it may be more important now than ever!
“Life is short and there will always be dirty dishes, so let’s dance.” James Howe
Whether you were already a dancer and are itching to get moving again, or you’ve never danced a single step, the lockdown is a perfect chance to experiment with some different dance styles and learn something new from the comfort and privacy of your own room. Here are some dancers and online platforms to help you boogie your way through the lockdown!
1. Instagram Live
For the first time ever, world renowned choreographers are taking to Instagram live, to teach classes for free! 21 year old Ysabelle Capitule, who has gained a huge fan base from her career as a dancer, just recently taught an Instagram live, which saw 33,381 people join! Keep your eyes peeled for her next one, and join the globally attended class!
2. Locally based dance studios
Why not check out some of the more local talent and opportunities. More and more local choreographers are taking to online platforms to stream classes. Levan Peart, founder of Blackout Dance Camp, has moved his weekly urban class, usually taught at Heartwork studios, to a free livestream on Instagram on Thursdays at 6pm (Definitely one to try out!). Heartwork studios, Blackout Collective, Dance Xchange and ByBrennan are more Midlands based classes who have moved some of their weekly training online! Go check out their Instagram pages for more details.
3. TikTok
If the thought of a full dance class doesn’t appeal to you, why not take things into your own hands and get creative with apps like TikTok. TikTok allows you to create short video clips to popular songs. Join the rapidly growing online community and try learning some of the trending dances, or even better, create your own! You might even be able to persuade your family to get involved.
4. Strictly come dancing in your front room
Strictly Come Dancing stars, Oti Mabuse and Karen Hauer have just launched ‘Home Festival’, an online space to access free classes for all ages! These are scheduled to take place every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with a timetable of fun activities to keep you moving, and keep spirits high!
5. YouTube
YouTube is filled with all kinds of dance videos from Dance workouts and Zumba routines, to full choreography tutorials. ‘Dance Tutorials’ is a widely used YouTube channel dedicated to free tutorials and how-to’s for all styles of dance, so there will be something for everyone! Try setting yourself a weekly challenge to learn a new dance!
So why not give one of these options a go, and who knows, maybe you’ll have found a new talent! Or maybe you’ll find you have two left feet… Either way nobody will be there to watch you, so let loose!
“Any kind of dancing is better than no dancing at all.” Lynda Barr