features
Dance fitness: Let’s dance
Gym-based dance concept SwingTrain found fame on Dragons’ Den, when dragon Deborah Meaden invested. Kath Hudson talks to founder, Scott Cupit
What’s SwingTrain?
SwingTrain is a total body cardio workout, accompanied by the vintage vibes of swing, gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz, providing an alternative to the usual top 40 hits. Instructors lead participants through a series of fun, follow-along moves inspired by the vintage street dances of the Charleston, lindy hop and shag.
Suitable for all levels of fitness and coordination, no dance or fitness class experience is required. All the moves have modifiers, so instructors can help people with limited movement, or who need to build their fitness levels more slowly. Sessions last an hour with warm-up and warm-down.
What are the benefits?
The full body cardio workout exercises the legs, arms and core, as well as developing coordination and mental agility, through memorable routines. Participants can burn up to 500 calories in an hour, while having lots of fun.
What keeps people engaged?
The experience keeps people coming back – it’s fun, the choice of music is enjoyable and classes have a great atmosphere. SwingTrain also sets out to foster friendships: some of our routines have interaction and pairing-up elements, so people can meet and have fun with others. Instructors are coached on how to build a community, rather than just a client-base, and we choose SwingTrainers who are innately friendly and encouraging.
How has Deborah Meaden’s involvement helped business?
The mentoring from Deborah Meaden has helped me become a better entrepreneur, and I can now share what I’ve learned with the SwingTrainers, so they can build their business, as well as their community. Every SwingTrainer is coached on becoming an entrepreneur, not just a fitness instructor.
A central SwingTrain team offers instructors personal contact, as well as personal tuition in social media, marketing goals, using ambient media, establishing tone of voice, managing workout environments, client retention, paid advertising, local marketing strategies and more.
Meaden’s involvement has accelerated growth. We launched in the UK in January 2017 and then went international, launching in Australia, Italy and New Zealand within months.
Read more online www.swingtrain.com
If your studio programme needs some more zip, dance classes create a feel-good vibe and burn calories without participants noticing. We take a look at the options...
Jazzercise
Jazzercise is a full-body dance fitness programme that combines cardio with strength training, set to top-40 music. The hour long classes combine elements of Pilates, jazz dance, cardio-boxing, resistance training and yoga. The dance-party vibe and physical results make people fast fans. There are more than 10 different class formats and 32,000 classes offered globally per week. Benefits include improved cardiopulmonary function, lowered blood pressure and boosted confidence.
Read more online www.jazzercise.co.uk
DDMIX
DDMIX stands for Diverse Dance Mix and that is exactly what a class involves: lots of variety, lots of styles, lots of fun and an aerobic full body workout as a result. Created by Darcey Bussell using segments of dance from around the world, the steps are easy to follow and can be mastered by all, regardless of age and/or ability.
The aim of DDMIX is to get people moving without feeling intimidated by the word ‘dance’ or the technicality of the steps. Instead, it provides a full body workout that’s so much fun you don’t even notice you’re exercising.
DDMIX currently has 29 different dance genres, styles and eras: from Bollywood to Charleston, Russian to Japanese and 1940s to 1980s.
Read more online www.diversedancemix.com
Clubbercise
Bringing the nightclub to the studio – but without the hangover – Clubbercise claims to be exercise in disguise. Music lists are updated to include the latest dance anthems, as well as hits from the 90s and 00s for a bit of nostalgia. Held in darkened studios with glow-sticks and disco lights, the moves are easy to follow and guaranteed to give a calorie-busting cardio workout. Classes are inclusive – you don’t have to be a great dancer, and the darkened studio helps people lose their inhibitions.
A recent survey revealed that 94 per cent of respondents with mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and stress, felt doing regular Clubbercise classes improved their mental health by a reasonable or significant amount.
Read more online www.clubbercise.com
FitSteps
Launched in 2013 by former Strictly Come Dancing stars Natalie Lowe, Ian Waite and Mark Foster, FitSteps is an upbeat dance class that combines elements of ballroom dancing and Latin dance moves in fun routines.
No partner is needed for the 45-minute class, which mixes energetic moves with some slower ones – including waltz and rumba – to tone the torso, arms and legs. As well as being lots of fun, the class is rooted in actual dance moves, so participants are learning new skills.
Read more online www.fitsteps.co.uk
Zumba
A seasoned favourite, Zumba has broadened its remit to offer classes geared to different audiences. Zumba Gold is a modified version for older adults, which recreates the original moves but at a lower intensity. It focuses on conditioning, flexibility and balance, while providing a cardio workout.
At the other end of the spectrum, Zumba is engaging them young, with Zumbini, a class for zero to four year olds and their mums, which combines music, dance and educational tools. Following on from this is a concept for four- to six-year-olds that’s high energy and uses games, activities and cultural exploration to engage kids. It looks to build up confidence, self-esteem, memory, creativity, coordination and balance, as well as introduce children to the importance of being active.
The class for seven- to 11-year-olds features child-friendly routines based on the original choreography.
A brand new Zumba programme has also been launched, which sees the brand entering the HIIT space. STRONG is a high intensity cardio and bodyweight training programme that aims to push participants to their limits. Although the class is not dance-based, it uses reverse-engineered music tracks that match to every move, creating an immersive and motivational environment.
Read more online www.zumba.com
Create your own rhythm
Want to create a dance programme that’s unique to your brand? We ask Parkwood Leisure’s Sean Moore about Sway Dance
How did Sway Dance start?
In 2010, following a strategic review of its business, Parkwood Leisure extended its leisure brand to include dance. Recognising the popularity at that time of shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Sway Dance was developed as a unique way for people of all ages, genders, cultural backgrounds and abilities to engage with one another and adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Sway Dance uses dance participation to raise physical activity levels along with improving health and mental wellbeing. It engages with communities, particularly target groups such as children, teenagers, over 60s and the BAME community. Classes include Ballet Tots, Mini Movers, Ballet, Street Dance, Cheerleading, Musical Theatre, Salsa, Jazz, Line Dancing and Ballroom along with Bollywood, Bhangra and Belly Dancing.
How popular is it?
Sway Dance is one of the largest providers of children’s dance classes in the UK and is available at over 40 Parkwood Leisure centres throughout England and Wales. In 2016, 208,888 people took part in Sway Dance and it attracts around 20,000 participants each month.
What’s next?
This summer Sway Dance launched two new styles of programme: one follows a more structured route, while the other is all about physical activity for enjoyment.
Future growth will be achieved through franchising the product to local independent dance studios, promoting the brand and marketing to wider audiences, with satellite sites such as community halls or schools being used by Sway Dance teams to widen delivery within local communities.
Are there any initiatives?
There are various outreach programmes, and Sway School Clubs follow the Sway Dance syllabus, with content from over 30 genres.
What you need to know:
What you get with a licensing fee:
Clubbercise:
• Ongoing rights to use the Clubbercise brand name
• Access to at least three hours worth of online choreography straight away and then three to five brand new routines per month
• £18 worth of music credits every three months
• Class listings on clubbercise.com
• A personalised web page on clubbercise.com
• Customisable marketing materials for print
• Social media marketing materials
• Access to online Clubbercise Members Area
• One-to-one support from a Clubbercise Mentor
SwingTrain:
• Two new routines each month
• SwingTrain branded clothing
• Trainer profile and class listings on swingtrain.com
• Branded Facebook page
• Marketing starter pack and ongoing branded materials
• Support from SwingTrain HQ and access to the SwingTrain Accredited Trainer (SWAT) forum
• Every SwingTrainer is coached on becoming an entrepreneur, not just being a fitness instructor. Many personal trainers are self-employed, so they have to be entrepreneurial.
FitSteps:
• FitSteps License
• Access to new choreography, music and choreo notes
• Free business building course
• Brand and marketing materials to help promote your dance exercise classes
• Online profile on our website, with own timetable
• Discounts on future training and workshops
• Sample 30 minute classes you can deliver in all three of the FitSteps programmes (FitSteps Classic, FitSteps FAB “For All Bodies” and FitSteps Extreme)
DDMIX:
• PPL free music
• Choreography videos
• Marketing material
• Access to exclusive events for instructors
Zumba:
• Access to workout content and music, updated monthly
• The right to teach under the Zumba name
• An entry on the class finder at Zumba.com
