Campaign aims to get 100,000 more active through dance

The Department of Health's 'Dance Champions' Group, will embark on a nationwide tour to get the country dancing, Public Health Minister Gillian Merron recently announced.

Dance Champions (DC) is an exciting new venture which has been developed to support and encourage more people to be more active and the campaign was launched to get 100,000 people more active through dance in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

DC is supported by the Physical Activity Alliance in partnership with the Department of Health. The Group is Chaired by Rod Aldridge OBE of The Aldridge Foundation.

The Dance Champions Campaign, part of Dance4Life, will see the Dance Champions Group:

• travel the length and breadth of the country to host free mass-participation 'dance-celebration' events in each region. The events will encourage people new to dance and those who used to enjoy dancing when they were younger to get involved and get active

• offer free taster dance sessions for people who aren't very active and provide people with information about how they can get more involved in dance locally; 
create the first ever dance directory website, providing a one-stop-shop to let people know how they can get dancing

• stage a Dance Summit to bring together national organisations involved in all types of dance and rally them behind the common goal of getting the nation active through dance. The champions will work with dance organisations to get a clearer picture of how the work of the dance sector can be co-ordinated to help get the population more active.

The initiative aims to champion dance in all its forms and to lend support to a range of existing initiatives that promote participation in dance. It will open up the world of dance by bringing together organisations, disciplines and styles in a summit designed to promote a collective drive to ensure more people find and enjoy the benefits of dance as a whole and to identify the support required by the Dance world.

The Dance Champions website will become an easy to access directory of dance opportunities, enabling those that wish to Dance to find each other.