Dancing is cool again

There was a time, many moons ago, when young people gathered at the weekend at a dance hall or community centre to meet, socialise and, yes, to dance… We might just be witnessing a revival. Thanks to the wealth of talent shows and reality TV programmes on our screens in recent years, dance is more popular now than ever before. And Sports Leaders UK is riding the crest of this wave of enthusiasm with its Level 1 Award in Dance Leadership. Teenagers and young men in Scotland are the latest group to start soft-shoe shuffling with a new programme called Boys on Beat. Organiser Philip Ritchie of Youth Scotland tells us more. “We’ve run a number of ‘Girls on the Move’ courses in the past, designed to increase physical activity levels amongst girls and young women, and these included dance,” says Philip. “But we’ve seen an increase in demand for courses for young men – so we decided to give the Level 1 Award in Dance Leadership a trial run from a male perspective.” In August, Philip and colleagues from Sports Leaders UK and Youth Scotland put together a week-long residential course in Perthshire for men aged 16 to 24. “The response was superb,” says Philip. “Street dance is hugely popular – some of the best acts on Britain’s Got Talent, for example, have been dancers. We wanted to tap into this newfound enthusiasm and encourage young men to take up physical exercise. We knew that, over a five-day period, we could offer candidates a chance to explore different styles of dance. And of course, we’d be teaching them organisational and leadership skills at the same time.” The residential course was based at Kilgraston School in the Bridge of Earn, and was designed to be practical and challenging – but it was also about developing social skills and meeting peers from across the country. “Our selection process involved assessing people’s situations and whether or not they took part in physical exercise already, or had any ongoing employment,” says Philip. “We wanted those who took part to get as much benefit as possible from Boys on Beat, so we scrutinised each application to assess whether we thought they’d make the most of what we had to offer.” Successful applicants were asked to pay a commitment fee of £50. Youth Scotland helped fund the rest of the group’s food and accommodation. The young men selected for the course faced an intensive week – with each day crammed with various styles of dance, leadership testing and other activities designed to develop their organisational skills. The team also had the opportunity to enjoy other aspects of personal development such as confidence building and group work, and after a hard day on the dance floor they were able to relax and socialise together at night. “By the end of the week, the participants were in a better position to take stock of their skills and decide what they wanted to do with them,” says Philip. “They now have a qualification under their belts, and will also have the chance to develop their dance leadership skills further with the groups they’re part of. This could also be a stepping stone for them to move into further education. “That’s the beauty of the course – it can be tailored to suit people’s needs, and what they’d like to get out of it. It was great to witness first-hand how these young men grew in confidence. “It’s not easy to meet a load of new faces in a strange place and then have to dance and perform in front of them,” he adds, “and people were understandably nervous at first. But they became so absorbed by the course and with doing their best that the nerves just melted away. “I know some firm friendships have been formed. I’m really looking forward to organising similar courses for Youth Scotland using the Level 1 Award in Dance Leadership in the future, and helping bring young people together in this fun and challenging physical pursuit.” Philip hopes to run similar courses in the future on the back of the success of this initial pilot programme. Note to editors: Sports Leaders UK is a charity delivering sports leadership awards and qualifications to more than 200,000 people a year, through 4,000 schools, colleges, local authorities, prisons and young offender units. It acts as an Awarding Body providing nationally recognised qualifications, and has a Foundation to deliver free or subsidised courses in areas of greatest need. Sports Leaders UK Anne Compton, Public Relations T: 01908 689212 E: media@sportsleaders.org