27.04.20
Primary Schools

International Dance Day Challenge By Amaven

Wednesday 29th April is International Dance Day. An annual celebration of the positive impact that dance can have on all of our lives, and to celebrate we are challenging you to learn our short routine and share your videos with us! 

International Dance day was first recognised and celebrated in 1982 as a way of honouring the renowned creator of modern ballet, Jean-Georges Noverre’s birthday and it has been celebrated every year since to share how enjoyable, and beneficial dance can be.

In recent years, Dance has taken prime time, with TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Greatest Dancer among many others being very popular. Dance is also growing in popularity with many sports stars reportedly using Dance as a method of managing injury and overall health due to the strength and flexibility benefits, athletes such as Rio Ferdinand (former Manchester United), LeBron James (Basketball Superstar) and Alex Morgan (USA Ladies Footballer) all reportedly regular dancers, and helped them become champions in their chosen sports.  

For schools, Dance is a national curriculum requirement, but it is so much more than that, it should be fun and engaging, but it also supports the Physical Activity Guidelines, and this is why we have set out movement of the day activities in all of our school portals. Dance really is a great way to get ready for all types of sport. 

Dancing for physical fitness

Dance is a great form of exercise and regular dancers will find that improvements in their.

  • Cardiovascular health through gentle, moderate or vigour activity
  • Balance and Strength whilst working through multiple planes of movement simultaneously 

Dance for mental performance

Not only does dancing support improvements in physical health, but it also contributes to mental performance too. Dance will; 

  • Boost cognitive performance by presenting organisational skills required to arrange a dance pattern
  • Challenge your brain by working bi-laterally

Dance for emotional wellbeing! 

Emotional wellbeing is vitally important, especially at this time and dance is a great way of getting people together and boosting your mood. Dance is; 

  • Inclusive (Anyone can do it)
  • Can be a great social activity. This is perfect for a time where we need to be socially distant, dance with you family, dance on video calls, we even seen examples of streets all dancing together in their driveways!
  • Boost your mood. All forms of physical activity produce endorphins which make us happy! 

Our Lockdown Challenge! 

As the country remains in lockdown, we challenge you to give Dance a try! 

Watch our TikTok Video, practice the dance that we have demonstrated, and create your own TikTok version (feel free to add you own aspects). Share your attempts with us using the hashtag #amavendanceday. We will share the best entries on our Twitter feed, on Monday 4th May! 

If you have really enjoyed our challenge, why not become one of our Young Champions, sign up is free and there are lots of great dances and other activities to practice and learn online. 

We can’t wait to see your TikTok dances! Best of luck!

Stay Safe