Thank you, for sharing your story with us Jess! We love dancing with you at Liberate Dance, and thank you, too, for being a huge part of our Liberate Youth sessions.

Our Liberate studio sessions are held at Unit 12, Winnall Valley Rd, Winchester SO23 0LD on Saturdays:

• Liberate Youth (ages 7-13) – 12.30-1.30pm
• Liberate Young Adult (ages 14-21) – 2-3pm
• Liberate Adult (ages 21+) – 2-3pm

Just let us know if you’d like any further information about Liberate Dance (or any of our classes) – or you can book a free taster session. We’d love to hear from you.

Edna reflects on the meaningful friendships she has made through the class, sharing,

 “It means a lot to me as I live alone.”

 

“I enjoy it all! It is fun, keeps you healthy and we have a lovely teacher.”

With one of our main aims to ensure that the classes are fun, it’s wonderful to hear how much Edna enjoys herself and values the friendships she’s made and the social side of coming to class. Edna continues her joy of dancing by watching different kinds of dance outside our Move Momentum classes.

Thank you so much for telling us all about your experience of dancing with Move Momentum and GEMS, Edna!

If you’ve enjoyed Edna’s story and think that GEMS classes might be for you, please look at this page for more information! Please feel free to get in contact if you have any more questions or to enquire about any of our classes!

Katie was encouraged to find a community of disabled people as a way of accepting her disability. She kindly shares with us some of her challenging experiences in other arts:

“Dance wasn’t ever something I thought I would be involved in, but I have always been very active and very musical. I have played the piano since I was about 6 and was always involved in choir programmes. When I became disabled, the experience of being in a choir changed a lot. Being the only one sitting in a room full of people standing up was an uncomfortable sensation. When I started dancing, I found a way that I could still express my musicality without feeling alienated.” 

Thank you, for sharing your story with us, Katie! We love dancing with you at Liberate Dance, and thank you, too, for being a huge part of our Liberate Dance classes.

Monday 23 October was National Boys Dance Day, and so this week we’re showcasing some of the amazing male dancers who come to Move Momementum’s classes and workshops.

As well as workshops tailored to individual requirements, and individual training sessions, Move Momentum offers regular classes to 10-16 year-olds through Academies, to over 65s (our GEMS) and to wheelchair users (our Liberate dancers).

Why do you like dancing? And what made you start dancing with Liberate Dance?

I saw a sponsored advert on Facebook and thought that it wouldn’t be for me. But people were saying “give it a go”, so I joined a Zoom session. For the first couple of Zoom sessions, I thought “what am I doing here?” But I soon realized how wrong I was. When we moved off of Zoom, I then joined the Saturday classes in the studios in 2021. Due to other commitments I now no longer undertake Saturday adult classes. However I still do my one-to-one choreographed classes. I find dance and the rhythm of movement so freeing and liberating.

Why do you like dancing with Liberate Dance?
I can sum this up easily: sense of community, belonging, and friendships formed.

What is your favourite part of the class/session?
The various choreography.

Have you made new friends through Liberate? If so, what do these friendships mean to you?
Yes, this is important for one’s mental wellbeing – you can go to the group and know you are not going to be judged in any way and if you do feel like you have a problem then you have a support group who will listen and try and help.

What are the benefits of coming to the classes – for example, health/social benefits?
Health and mental wellbeing – holistic wellbeing – fitness.

Is there any particular type of music or piece of music you like?
No particular preference or genre – I like lyrics to songs and a nice meaning.

Do you have any particular role models for dancing/do you watch Strictly Come Dancing or any other dancing programmes?
I take a lot of inspiration from rolletes_la.
I appreciate that there is a lack of all-male groups and this is something I hope the boys campaign and male dancing week can shine a light on.

Any particular thoughts as a trustee about encouraging boys/men to dance, and/or the benefits of dancing?
In my role as a trustee I want to strive to ensure that this gap is equally represented and closed, so that boys and males can express themselves and find dance in an avenue which they can go down.

Do you have any particular plans for the future?

Thank you, Harry – for being such a special part of Liberate Dance, and for all the time you give and expertise you bring to our Board of Trustees.

Liberate classes are held at Unit 12, Winnall Valley Rd, Winchester SO23 0LD on Saturdays in term-time:

• Youth (ages 7-13): 12.30-1.30pm
• Young Adult (ages 14-21): 2-3pm
• Adult (ages 21+): 3.30-4.30pm

And if you’ve missed any of our National Boys Dance Day stories, earlier in the week, we posted Liberate dancer Jack’s, GEMS dancer John’s, and Academies dancer Alfie’s.

On Monday 23 October, we published a blog about National Boys Dance Day, and this week have been highlighting the stories of some of our ‘boy’ dancers.

We run a variety of different classes at Move Momentum, and including our Academies – street-dance classes for 10-16 year-olds. We hold two Academy classes during time-time – one at Winnall in Winchester on Tuesdays, and the second at Stanmore, Winchester, on Wednesdays.

And this blog is all about 15-year-old Stanmore Academy dancer, Alfie, and who’s been doing our street-dance classes since Move Momentum started in 2019. We asked Alfie some questions and his answers are below.

What made you take up dancing?
For a fun activity after school.

Why do you like dancing?
I enjoy seeing friends and having fun with them. It’s also good exercise.

What is your favourite part of the class?

The fun games.

Is there any particular type of music or piece of music that you like?
Drum and bass.

What are the benefits of coming to the classes?
For exercise and support from our teacher, Kerry, and from everyone in the class.

Do you have any particular role models for dancing/do you watch Strictly or any other dancing programmes?
Diversity – very good dancers. Strictly – they once turned the place into a swimming pool, the dance to Imagine Dragons’s ‘Believer’ – a very unique and interesting dance.

What are your plans for the future?
Carpentry and an apprenticeship – and to continue these classes for as long as possible.

And thank you for sharing your story with us, Alfie!

If you’d like more information about the Academies classes, head over to the Academies webpage – and if you’ve missed any of the ‘boys’ blogs already posted this week, we’ve written about Liberate dancer Jack and GEMS dancer John. And look out tomorrow for Harry’s.

This is the second spotlight story to mark National Boys Dance Day (23 October 2023), and highlights the experience of another of our amazing dancers, and this time from one of our GEMS classes.

Our GEMS sessions are for over 65s, and take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They include a mixture of seated and standing movement, with everyone encouraged to go at their own pace – and above all, with the focus on having fun.

Why do you like dancing?
Because it involves bodily movement to rhythms and lyrics. It is good for coordination of arms and legs and for keeping in step with the group as a whole.

Why do you like dancing with GEMS?
Our teachers have greatly challenged us with our capacities on a wide range of routines and given us time to get accustomed to them before moving on to something new. The sessions are fun and relaxed.

Jack is 18 years old, and has just started his first year at the University of Portsmouth, studying Post Production.

Jack is a Liberate Dance student, and Liberate Dance is our exclusively wheelchair-based dance company, created to celebrate the freedom of movement a wheelchair brings to people with disabilities.

Jack has Cerebral Palsy. He says,

“This does make life challenging but I am always looking for ways to adapt towards my environment. In everyday life and as a performer I have found ways to adapt for my own movement when sometimes people have not thought and considered this as an issue for me.”

How long have you been dancing at Liberate?
Since October 2019.

Why do you like dancing with Liberate Dance?
I like dancing with Liberate because of the sense of collaboration and community. Everyone at Liberate supports one another and the classes are great because of this reason.

The classes are laid back and not too serious which is how life should be seen. Not everything has to be serious and the fact that we are performers in a wheelchair is a reason why this means so much to me as an individual, and for the wider society to recognise that someone like me is indeed a dancer.

Have you made new friends through Liberate? If so, what do these friendships mean to you?

I have made lots of friends through Liberate, both from my Young Adults class and the Adults class.

What is amazing is how much we learn about each other and each one of us has a different story to tell which I think is incredible for a group of wheelchair dancers. It means that we don’t stop talking – but allows for us to build upon the connection we have with each other, and also lean on each other for support, and gives us someone to talk to about anything in general!

What are the benefits of coming to the classes?
For me, it’s a chance to get moving and keep myself active while also socialising with like minded individuals who are all there because we all enjoy the passion and hobby of dancing.

I have also noticed since joining Liberate that I am more determined and passionate in both dancing and my everyday life and because I have joined Liberate Dance my confidence has grown and has helped me become a better person because I know I can achieve anything I put my mind to.

It has also led to agreeing to do more things and so I really have had lots of opportunities since the class, both from the class itself and life in general.

Do you have any particular role models for dancing or do you watch Strictly Come Dancing or any other dancing programmes?
One of my main role models for dance is Rose Ayling-Ellis [actress and winner of Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and hearing impaired] and to watch her dance to Symphony was breathtaking and was so powerful to show what her daily struggles are from being deaf but also being able to communicate this to the audience in a unique and raw way, that made everyone emotional watching. I loved seeing her journey as her confidence grew and she took bigger leaps and huge risks and was so excited when she won because of what it meant in terms of representation for the disabled community.

Strictly has not only been influential for including and showcasing celebrities who are disabled such as Ellie Simmonds [former Paralympian swimmer] and Rose Ayling-Ellis but also in showing how male celebrities can be really good dancers (Joe Sugg, Kelvin Fletcher and Karim Zarowell are good examples of this), and also for same-sex couples (such as John and Johannes and Nikita and Layton this year) and that highlights the power that dance can bring and also the impact it can have and hold on an audience. I also think that Musa Motha (who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent) is a massive inspiration for me because of the way he moved and completely took over the audience both in the studio and at home when we all watched his audition piece that was absolutely sensational!

What are your plans for the future?
I am currently studying Post Production at the University of Portsmouth, and aspire to become a disabled editor and content creator for videos and TV programmes. I am also interested in social media and campaign marketing. In terms of my performing, that will always stay as a hobby for me – and I have no plans to stop doing that anytime soon!

Will Liberate help you towards achieving your goals?
Liberate has helped me gain the confidence to be a performer, and the group has always supported me in my dreams and aspirations, and so will help me to keep pursuing my love of performing as a huge passion of mine for the foreseeable future.

Thank you, for sharing your story with us, Jack! We love dancing with you at Liberate Dance, and thank you, too, for all that you bring to the Liberate Dance classes.

Our Liberate studio sessions are held at Unit 12, Winnall Valley Rd, Winchester SO23 0LD on Saturdays.

• Youth (ages 7-13): 12.30-1.30pm
• Young Adult (ages 14-21): 2-3pm
• Adult (ages 21+): 3.30-4.30pm

And we have an online class, held via Zoom, on Wednesdays, 7-8pm.

Just let us know if you’d like any further information about Liberate Dance (or any of our classes) – or you can book a free taster session. We’d love to hear from you.

“But since being at Liberate,” Lizzie adds, “I have a community of like-minded people I can bounce ideas off, and we can discuss how we’re feeling.

“Our experiences aren’t exactly the same – but similar – and I’ve never had that before.”

An enthusiastic member of the team, Lizzie not only attends the Wednesday online Liberate class, but the Saturday Winnall studio class as well taking part in shows and showcase events – such as this year’s Move Momentum Summer Show and Winchester’s annual mega event, the Hat Fair.

Lizzie has made such incredible progress since first joining us and it’s wonderful to know that Liberate has had such a significant impact on her life. She volunteered for a while here at Move Movementum and then we were absolutely thrilled to welcome her working alongside us, as Admin and Marketing Officer.