A year ago Rufus and I ventured over to Lancashire for ‘Express’ – a celebration of inclusive dance and it was an afternoon that stayed with us and inspired us.

On this day last year, we were excited to host our first #InclusiveDance showcase "Express" – a wonderful event with a diverse mixture of performances from our groups. The groups are all now online & they continue to perform in a new way.

Find out more: https://t.co/cSfkfgWEmA pic.twitter.com/3duhr341gu

— DanceSyndrome (@DanceSyndrome) March 1, 2021

I had been aware of DanceSyndrome for some time and felt drawn to their work. Unfortunately I couldn’t access their classes due to the mixture of the limitations my physical health creates combined with it being too far away for me and I rely on public transport to get anywhere.

Then lockdowns happened and DanceSyndrome started moving their classes online.

With the uncertainty and complexity of the impact that lockdowns were having on local communities and society, I lost any desire to dance or engage with the dance community for some months.

But september last year I decided to join some of DS free classes and really loved it. I quickly joined the DS online contemporary class, later I did a block of street classes as well as musical jazz and eventually joined the ballet class.I have now settled in to doing 2 classes a week and I have joined the Carry on Dancing session twice and love it.

I have loved all the classes and it is only due to my limited energy in daily life and having to constantly prioritise my activities that I am not doing all of them. I need to cook, eat, shower, tidy up my house, get outside and do some work as well as dance so I have had to accept that in my world there is not enough energy or time for all the things I’d love to do. I have watched two online live Rave performances and am itching to try it but know that evenings are tricky as I am usually out of energy by 5pm. I live in hope though 🙂

Dance Syndromes classes are perfect for me. I feel able to come along even when I am in a lot of pain, stiff and exhausted because I know that I will be encouraged to do what works for me and my body on that day. If I am having a better day I can challenge myself, work on my technique and change movements and add details. I like the combination of being led in exercises while also being given responsibility for my own way of moving. For me there is a good balance between structure and flexibility.

The atmosphere is always joyful and supportive and now six months later the classes are a big part of my sense of staying connected and being part of community. I love seeing familiar faces and new faces and creating moving online performances together. I absolutely love the diversity of bodies, movement and expression that are encompassed in a single DS performance. I watch them many times and feel just as moved the first time I watch them as I do the 5th or the 10th time.

Movement is essential to my physical and emotional wellbeing and the DanceSyndrome classes are providing me with a safe space to find what works for me and support me to look after my body.

Find out more: https://www.dancesyndrome.co.uk/events