Synergy Dance® visited by Tess and Claudia and featured on Strictly Come Dancing!
Synergy Dance® featured on Strictly Come Dancing! Sunday 7th November 2021 on BBC 1.
Locally based charity, Synergy Dance® Outreach, sister company to Synergy Dance®, received a visit from Tess and Claudia from Strictly Come Dancing at Guildford Spectrum.
The Strictly team came to film one of Synergy’s inclusive classes funded by Children In Need. It was a very happy occasion. The children were delighted to meet their favourite TV presenters! Synergy Dance Outreach were featured on Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday 7th November 2021 from 7.15-8pm for all the inclusive activities they do for children and young people. Watch it here – https://youtu.be/EJeAw69uQKY
Rachael Hurton, Synergy Dance Outreach Founder & Director, said “It was a celebration of all the inclusive work we do for children and young people. A Synergy class is a happy place, and we believe that dance is for everyone. Such a happy occasion – we are so proud of all the children and teachers who took part. It was such an honour to meet Tess and Claudia and to work with both Strictly Come Dancing and Children In Need. We are so grateful for their support. Our innovative dance and yoga activities in schools and leisure centres, are serving both mainstream children and children within the Special Needs and Disability community. At Synergy no one is left behind.”
About Synergy…
Synergy Dance® is a one stop package for leisure centres and schools offering an innovative range of children’s activities for digital and offline dance clubs, yoga, parties, holiday workshops and courses. We empower leisure centres and schools, offering a complete service to increase their revenue streams and range of activities.
Synergy Dance® Outreach, was set up to create positive change, removing barriers to enable children and young people experiencing disadvantage or marginalisation to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing through accessible, inclusive and fun dance, fitness, yoga, singing and related activities. Inclusivity is vital to us and we aim to ensure that neither finance, fitness, ability, disability nor family circumstance are barriers to participation.
In the last year Synergy Dance® expanded their reach Nationally via their online digital platform of pre-recorded classes, and the team are delighted that Synergy Dance® has won 3 National Awards:
2021 Winner of the Diversity & Inclusion Award from the Sport and Recreation Alliance
2021 Winner Specialist Dance School of the Year – Corporate Livewire – Innovation & Excellence
2021 Leader of the Year – Rachael Hurton – Club Hub UK Awards
Fully inclusive…
Synergy Dance® are fully inclusive, and their dance, fitness and yoga classes are attended by both mainstream children and young people with a wide range of conditions – Special Needs (incl. Autism, ADHD, ASD, Downs, Global development delay, MLD, ODD, learning difficulties, Down Syndrome, Dyspraxia, asthma, hearing loss, Cerebral Palsy & more), Visually Impaired and Blind, The Disability Community, Long Term Health Conditions and simply those who are low on confidence or suffering from anxiety. They stand out for our diverse range of activities and our ability to reach out to everyone who can benefit from exercise. Synergy dance and yoga classes provide activities for mainstream children and those with Special Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in schools, Outreach centres and leisure centres.
Local SEND children now have the same opportunities to enjoy dance, fitness and yoga, as the non-disabled community. In the last year Synergy launched ParaStars Dance™ and ParaStars Yoga® – seated programmes for all ages and these have been a lifeline for many children who had a disability and were unable to attend school during lockdowns. Inclusivity is vital to them. Synergy partner with many other charities and organisations including British Blind Sport, Freedom Leisure, PFP Leisure and Everyone Active.
The positive impact of dance on the children and young people Children In Need has funded is both social and physical. Children make friends, really build their confidence and parents and carers connect too. There’s also the impact of feeling included and the joy that comes from learning new dance steps to great music. The CIN funding enables dance for children and young people who might otherwise not have access to classes and keeping fit. Their range of needs means they benefit from the specialist classes we provide in a relaxed, no pressure setting, and this also gives them the confidence to try other activities in the future. Both Freedom Leisure Guildford Spectrum and Woking Leisure centre host Synergy SEND classes – for more info please contact admin@synergydance.co.uk
Keeping active throughout the Pandemic…
The Synergy Dance service is aiming to keep the nation active through inclusive and fun activities that have been developed to support all individuals including people with physical and mental disabilities. The classes are suited to all abilities with activities ranging from seated yoga to audio recordings for the visually impaired and blind.
Rachael Hurton, Synergy Dance Outreach Founder & Director, said: “At Synergy we were determined lockdown would not stop us making a difference. We are proud to support inclusive activities for all children, teens, adults and the elderly. We encourage everyone we come into contact with to participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, at this time, via online training, up to five times per week.
Our Synergy courses are for all including Special Needs classes for Autism & Cerebral Palsy, audios for the Visually Impaired and Blind, seated classes for the Disability Community, those with Long Term Health Conditions and the elderly – offering much diversity and choice. Thanks to our online pre-recorded lesson and on-site activities, so many more people can join in the fun and improve their physical and mental health through our online exercise programmes which can take place anywhere and at any time.”
For more information on Synergy Dance® Outreach classes and how to register, visit http://synergydanceoutreach.co.uk/or click on http://synergydance.co.uk/
For a diverse range of inclusive and mainstream classes click on:
https://synergy-dance-online.teachable.com
Background on the founder
Rachael Hurton said: “I set up Synergy to make a difference, having discovered a gap in the market for inclusive, fun dance activities which appealed to all. I had nowhere to send my little boy who wanted to learn breakdance or my little girl, who dreaded the pressure of ballet and tap and wanted to try new dance styles in a more relaxed setting.
We set up Synergy Dance® Outreach, the charity arm of Synergy, to meet local need and create positive change, removing barriers to enable people experiencing disadvantage or marginalisation to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing through accessible, inclusive and fun dance, fitness, yoga, singing and related activities. Our beneficiaries include people with special educational needs, those who are visually impaired, the elderly and other disadvantaged people, children and young people.
“We were determined lockdown would not stop us making a difference. Synergy pivoted fast to serve all our children, communities and service users. Just four days into lockdown in March 2020, we launched our first online platform of courses for dance, yoga and meditation with courses for children, teens, adults and the elderly. We expanded our online platforms for children and young people, creating an opportunity to reach a far wider audience. We now have global interest and people can access our classes anywhere in the world. Now so many more people can join in the fun and improve their physical and mental health through exercise. To get people active is our ultimate goal – to get the nation moving and to celebrate the power of dance”!
For media queries please contact Kathryn O’Toole