CHESHIRE Dance may not be able to deliver its usual classes in studios, schools, and halls but that’s certainly not stopping its many members from dancing.

The Winsford-based charity, which gives people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds access to dance has leaped through hoops to keep participants tripping the light fantastic thanks to online interactive sessions.

In the past month, Cheshire Dance practitioners have delivered 1,000 online dance experiences after vowing to ensure its community keeps active, social, healthy, and most importantly keeps dancing.

“We have always championed the fact that dancing has no age limits, and it seems that technological advances have no age limits either. People of all ages are now dancing with us online, with our oldest online participant being 94 years of age,” said Adam Holloway, director of Cheshire Dance

The charity hosted its first class online at the end of March with DS Dance, a session delivered for Cheshire Downs Syndrome Support Group and led by Northwich-based dancer Megan Hope.

Almost a month later it has added nine classes to its repertoire via the Zoom platform. Classes are live and interactive, allowing participants to see and follow their usual dance artists, as well as each other in real time.

“There is a tremendous demand for people to stay connected, and these online classes allow for this,” explained Adam. “This experience once again highlights just how powerful dance can be.”

While the technology has been an asset, it’s not been without challenges especially as a large proportion of participants falling into the category of older adults and those with disabilities.

“Supporting and guiding the groups to get started with this technology – especially those in strict isolation who have been unable to request assistance from others in person – has been the largest challenge,” said Adam

“The work of Cheshire Dance spans across young people, older people and those living with disabilities – sometimes profound and multiple learning difficulties – so it has been important to also recognise that not all existing Cheshire Dance groups would be open to,  or able to adapt to live interactive online sessions.

“With this in mind – and for groups that have more specific needs – the team is now working on creating pre-recorded sessions that can be accessed at any time to suit the needs of these participant types and their carers.”

He added: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the resilience of participants and their openness to adapt to the changes regarding the delivery of our sessions. Through their determination and insistence to keep on dancing, even our older participants have overcome the challenges of operating the technology that we are using to host the classes.”

Megan, who runs DS Dance sessions with fellow dance practitioner Kathryn Kirk echoes these thoughts, adding: “We hope our dance sessions have a positive impact on our students and help lift spirits. I think it's great that we can do this, as it's so important for them to be able to see their friends, to socialise and keep our DS Dance family all connected.

“The only challenge we thought we may have faced was keeping the students all engaged, but that hasn't really been a problem. They have been doing brilliantly and have adapted to the online sessions as best as they can.

“Seeing all of their happy faces is enough to lift anyone's mood and is something we look forward to seeing every week. We are very proud of our students and can't wait to get back into the dance studio together when all of this over.”

Adam added “Our participants are showing us that in these difficult times, dancing is good for the heart, the mind and the soul, and we’re delighted that we can keep delivering these opportunities with the support of Cheshire West and Chester Council and Arts Council England.”

As well as running online sessions to support its regular groups, Cheshire Dance has is the lead organisation of Dance Consortia North West. As part of International Dance Day the charity has worked with Ludus Dance, MDI and Company Chameleon, to share written, photographic and video content across social media channels that reflect this year’s theme ‘Dancing Connects’.

To find out more about Cheshire Dance’s local work and its contributions to International Dance Day you can follow the charity of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or visit cheshiredance.org