Online Sessions

Dance to Health is a fun and creative dance activity. It provides safe and effective exercises which boost strength and balance while reducing falls. Every week we add a new video to keep challenging our participants and progressing their strength and balance. Join in and keep up to date with our latest releases as part of the Dance to Health family: email hello@dancetohealth.org. Follow us on Facebook @DancetoHealth and Twitter @Dance_to_Health.

Zoom Online Classes

We are pleased to be offering weekly Zoom classes for our regular participants, with all the evidence-based, high-quality content you expect from Dance to Health. Mobilisation, endurance, strength and balance, choreographed to fun music and a chance to chat and socialise with the online group at the end. Now running in Birmingham and Sheffield with new Zoom classes starting up in Cheshire, Norfolk and South Wales.

• Birmingham Ladywood Zoom Class - Friday morning with Jenny Murphy
• Sheffield St Augustine's Zoom Class - Wednesday with Charlie Armitage or Monday with Lucy Haighton
• **Starting in June** - Norfolk Zoom Class - Charlotte Haddon and Xenoula Eleftheriades

To join in: email hello@dancetohealth.org or contact your Dance Artist directly. 

Videos 

Each one has a different PSI (postural stability instruction) activity included in a dance routine.

If you choose to follow-along at home please do pay attention to the safety guidelines in the video. Remember to take things at your own pace, and stop at any time if you feel unwell or in pain. Most of all have fun!

Dance to Health Warm-up and Mobilisation with Charlotte Haddon

Join Dance to Health Norfolk's Dance Artist Charlotte in gentle, whole-body mobilisation and a warm-up.

Dance to Health seated endurance with Lucy Haighton

This is an upbeat, seated endurance activity suitable for all. Please make sure you have done one of our warm-up or mobilisation videos first. You should be ready for a dance sequence that will get your heart rate up and you feeling warm and slightly out of breath. Always follow the safety instructions and take a break if you feel unwell or in pain

Dance to Health arm and upper body strength with Bettina Carpi

This activity is a seated or standing and for upper body and arm strength. You are invited to make use of household objects such as tins or vegetables to act as weights, but you are very welcome to follow along with no weights at all. Remember to warm up first, a warm-up and mobilisation video is available at the top of this page. Always follow our safety instructions and stop if you feel unwell or in pain.

Dance to Health endurance with Lucy Haighton

Here’s an endurance activity designed to get your heart rate up using your arms and upper body. Dive into Lucy Haighton’s underwater inspired choreography, but remember to warm-up first and always follow our safety instructions.

Dance to Health Seated Leg Strength with Bettina Carpi

This is an expansive and expressive pice of choreography giving you the chance to kick out your legs and create sweeping arcs across the floor around you. Please make sure you have enough clutter free space to the front and sides of you before attempting this activity and always do our warm-up and mobilising video at the top of the page before attempting this strength exercise.

Dance to Health Mobilisation for Shoulders and Torso with Lucy Haighton

Get moving and loosening up with Lucy and Freddie Mercury who will have your shoulders, back and sides boogying along with this rockabilly track. This is a seated activity but you will need space to rotate your arms overhead and swing them from side to side. Always follow our safety instructions and use a hard backed chair on a stable surface.

Dance to Health Ankle Strength and Balance with Bettina Carpi

This activity can be done free standing like the Dance Artist or using one or both hands to support yourself holding a hard backed chair. This is a mixture of transfers of weight from one leg to another, single leg balances and lunges to imrpove your balance and strength. Alwats follow the sfaety instructions and warm up first with our mobilisation video at the top of the page.

Dance to Health Sit to Stand with Squats

These boots are made for walking and this is a great way to improve leg strength, Xenoula's activity makes sure you are set to walk those boots all over anyone you like!

Dance to Health Dynamic Endurance

Charlotte has the Hot Stuff here with an invigorating aerobic workout designed to keep you stepping in all directions. This activity is standing and more suitable for participants who are steady on their feet and looking to push their endurance. Remember to warm up first and always take our activities at your own pace, taking a break if you need to.

For our professional colleagues

Aesop is delighted to be making this high-quality, evidence-based, falls-prevention programme available not only to our existing participants, but to any older person at home. It’s important to stress that Dance to Health is a high-quality, evidence-based, falls-prevention programme. A randomised control trial* by Prof Dafna Merom has shown that “social dancing did not prevent falls or their associated risk factors.” 

Almost 80% of falls occur in the home, garden and immediate surroundings. We want to support older people now isolated at home, and research shows our community-based programme reduces falls by 58%. Just a few weeks of inactivity can result in a dramatic loss in strength and balance in older people, and an increased risk of falling. Dance to Health provides safe and effective exercise which boosts strength and balance while reducing falls, in fun and creative dance.

The Dance to Health Phase 1 Evaluation Report can be viewed here. 

* Merom, D., Mathieu, E., Cerin, E., Morton, R., Simpson, J., Rissel, C., Anstey, K., Sherrington, C., Lord, S. and Cumming, R. (2016), 'Social dancing and incidence of falls in older adults: a cluster randomised controlled trial', PLOS Medicine, vol 13, no 8.