Beating lockdown blues: Harrogate group dances its way to wellbeing to help community

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To combat the winter weather blues, Harrogate-based community organisation Dancing for Well-Being has come up with an idea to encourage their members to keep dancing through the second lockdown and beyond.

They’re providing each member with their own bag of props – colourful cheerleader pompoms, percussion shaker eggs, chiffon scarves and ribbon sticks.

And they’ve put some sessions of dances with the props on the Dancing for Well-Being website for members to join in with whenever they like.

Dancing for Well-Being had to suspend their groups for older people with health and mobility problems in March because of the pandemic.

Since then, staff have run Facebook and Zoom sessions to boost members’ physical and emotional well-being.

However, at group sessions before Coronavirus they used to use props to add fun, spontaneity and energy, and the staff wanted to bring this into the dances again.

The idea of giving each member a prop bag was made possible thanks to the generosity of funders Sport England (through North Yorkshire Sport) and Two Ridings Community Foundation, and also thanks to support from staff at the Knaresborough-based Hospital & Medical Care Association (HMCA).

Dancing for Well-Being’s Director, Jackie Terry-Schuhmann says “Dancing takes you out of yourself. It helps you forget about your situation.

"It’s a way to be in the moment, it’s uplifting and makes you smile”.

The majority of Dancing for Well-Being’s members have serious health conditions which, together with their age, mean they are at high risk if they catch Coronavirus.

So it was decided to delay restarting the groups when the second wave of the virus began at the end of September.

Jackie said: “We all miss the groups very much – the company and feeling of togetherness as much as the dancing, but safety has to be the main priority just now.

"Although we can’t bring everyone together at the moment, what we can do is try to support our members to stay as fit and upbeat as possible.

"Now everyone has their own props, there are several online options for using them, and those who are not on the internet can dance with them when listening to music on the radio or TV”.

Anne Cliff joined Dancing for Well-Being a few years ago and is a member of the Monday Friends Meeting House group in Harrogate.

She looks forward to the Zoom sessions on Thursdays and can’t wait to start using her new props.

She said: “Thanks to modern technology combined with the hard work and perseverance of the organisers, it’s been possible to continue to participate, via Zoom, in the Dancing for Well-Being sessions during shielding and lockdown.

"These give you both physical and mental stimulation which help lift your spirits; it’s so beneficial to more mature people, particularly those living alone and feeling somewhat isolated.

"The Thursday morning online sessions are great fun, the camaraderie second to none. It’s not to be missed!

"I’m really pleased with my “special delivery goody bag” of props – they’re so much fun to use in the dance routines”.

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