Events
Christmas Classes 2017
We’ve had a great year again here at Strictly Wheels!
It’s time for a well earned break and rest so here’s the details of our Christmas Classes 2017.
Our classes will run as normal up to 13th December.
13th Dec – 7.30pm
20th Dec – No class
27th Dec – No class
3rd Jan – No class
10th Jan – No class
17th Jan – 7.30pm
We’ll see you all in the New Year for another great year of Wheelchair Dance!
We have the following highlights to look forward to in 2018:
- UK National
- WPDS European Championships
- Mainhattan Cup, Frankfurt
If you want to come along and try a class, just pop in, everyone is welcome – wheelchair users and standing dancers alike. You don’t need to have any experience, everyone is a beginner at some point!
Move It 2016
Move It 2016
Strictly Wheels’ Paula and Gary are set to perform at the UK largest dance event – Move It 2016!
They’ll be appearing on the main stage on Friday 10th March shortly after 5.30pm showcasing wheelchair dance sport.
The pair will perform a couple of routines demonstrating Latin combi dances.
About Move It
Move It is a celebration of all forms of dance and the performing arts. It features breath-taking Main Stage performances, dance classes, a chance to discover dance career opportunities or brush up on acting and vocal skills in performing arts workshops. There’s also a great opportunity to shop for all your dance wear needs from the vast array of exhibitors at the event.
Headliners at the main stage this year include Kimberley Wyatt, Flawless, Neil & Katya Jones (Strictly), Lukas McFarlane (Got to Dance Winner 2013) and Lord of the Dance Academy. It will be fantastic to share the stage with such great names!
Workshops run constantly throughout the event and classes feature sessions by Rambert, RAD, Kimberley Wyatt and Momentum.
There will also be an open panel discussion about Inclusive Dance led by the WDSA (UK) and Rambert Dance company which is free to attend.
Tickets for the 3 day Move It 2016 event are on sale now, so be sure to get yours before they sell out!
IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport Continents Cup 2015
The IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport Continents Cup 2015 takes place this weekend 5th-6th September.
The event which is the largest IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport competition in the calendar, ahead of the World Championships, will see dancers from at least 21 worldwide countries meet in St Petersburg, Russia.
Athletes will compete in the standard Ballroom and Latin categories as well as the new Singles and Freestyle events which, given previous years entries, will no doubt prove very exciting to watch. Former routines have wowed the judges particularly in the Group Freestyle events. Russia itself has dominated the event in previous years, so we are looking forward with anticipation to see the results from the weekend as a forerunner to the World Championships.
The event will be broadcast live on Saturday and Sunday via the IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport website. Check out the Continents Cup website for the running order.
Unfortunately, Great Britain will not be represented this year due to lack of funding available to athletes in the UK so we are unable to send a team.
Wheelchair Dance Sport at this level is still not recognised so it is difficult to find funding and sponsors. We are still hoping for funding and sponsorship so that Team GB will be able to compete at the upcoming World Championships in Rome.
Wheelchair Dance Workshops
Over the last few years we’ve had some amazing opportunities to meet many different groups of people and introduce them to wheelchair dancing through wheelchair dance workshops. Often these are one off sessions, such as the National Naidex Exhibition or IIC however we have also had the opportunity to give long term support to other groups.
For the last 18 months we have had the privilege to work with alongside a group of Manchester based schools who already had a dance programme but wanted to expand and improve their offering with our wheelchair dance workshops. In that time the popularity of wheelchair dancing has increased so much the number of children taking part has exceeded the places available so some children have to take rotate when they attend sessions!
Through wheelchair dance the children have not only increased their dance skills but improved their day to day wheelchair skills. Their confidence has been boosted so much that some of them have even taken part in 2 international wheelchair dance sport competitions. It has been great to develop a long term relationship with the children and the schools.
We have also been committed to providing support to Whizz Kidz, a national charity program, especially at their camps, by supporting them with dance sessions and peer support and mentoring. These sessions go down really well proved by the number of teenage boys who end up enjoying dancing!
It sessions like these that really make our organisation worthwhile; being able to pass on skills and inspire people of all ages to get moving and discover the joy of wheelchair dance, whether they use legs or wheels!
Review
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for delivering the dance session last week. The kids loved it and got so much out of it. They wouldn’t stop talking about it and ‘A’ in particular wouldn’t stop dancing all Camp.”
Cat Marsh – Whizz-Kidz
National Paralympic Day 2015
National Paralympic Day 2015 takes place on Sunday 26th July in London, Brighton, Plymouth and Nottingham.
The day is a celebration of disability sport and legacy from the fantastic 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The day will feature many events and open sessions to try sports along with the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games.
Wheelchair Dancing will feature at the London event at Queen Elizabeth Park. Gary & Paula from Strictly Wheels will be performing a few routines to showcase Wheelchair Dance Sport as part of the Liberty Festival.
Come along to see Gary & Paula performing and have a go at wheelchair dancing. They will be at the performance area at 1pm and again at 2.30pm.
We look forward to seeing you there and celebrating National Paralympic Day 2015. More information on the event can be found here. #NPD2015
