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Dancing queens
A GROUP of
Liverpool ladies are following hot on the heels of pensioner pop
sensations the Zimmers by taking up dance classes, proving that it's
never too late to get into the groove. The pensioners from
Netherley and Belle Vale are no strangers to shaking their booties'
some have taken classes before in styles ranging from Egyptian to
African and contemporary dance and even performed at Liverpool's
annual Leap dance festival.
Lee Valley Housing has supported the community dance initiative for
the last 3 years with funding from its parent company the Riverside
Group. And it recently confirmed a further £2000 to continue classes
run by Merseyside Dance Initiative. Age is no barrier to the
boogie as 78 year-old Freda Neil can testify:- "The classes
help to keep us supple and it's a great way to meet people we do a
lot of laughing as well as keeping fit," said Freda.
MDI is preparing participants for the 2008 Leap festival that brings
the very best of contemporary regional, national and international
dance to Liverpool.
Sheila Porter Regeneration Officer for The Riverside Group said:-
"We are pleased to be continuing our partnership with Merseyside
Dance Initiative. The feedback from tenants has been very positive
and there's a real buzz from those taking part in performances."
Rachel Rogers, Project Development Manager for MDI added:-
"Everyone is really enjoying the classes we can tailor the moves to
suit all ages and abilities and offer a range of dance styles to
suit the particular group. Many more people are taking up, or
continuing to dance well beyond retirement age. People feel better
physically and dancing has real psychological benefits too. It's a
social event and helps to keep people up to date with arts and
culture."
Sci-Fi Illustration Demonstration & Workshop
BE inspired by
exhibition Out of this World:- The art of Josh Kirby with comic book
illustrator Leigh Gallagher, of 2000AD magazine and DC Comics.
Leigh will be producing sketches
inspired by the exhibition and highlighting the technical skills
involved in producing work of this type.
Drop-in, pick up some
tips and get creative. Materials provided.
This is designed for
Over 8s and runs from 1 to 4pm on 14 August 2007 at the Walker Art
Gallery on William Brown Street, Liverpool. |
Revolutionary new mobile pool making a splash in schools
A
revolutionary new mobile swimming pool is set to tour school sports
halls across the country after a successful trial at Norman Pannell
School in Liverpool. The temporary fixture known as the
‘Skypool’ has been developed by the UK’s leading swimming pool
company, Astralpool, and Olympic bronze medallist, Steve Parry’s
company, Total Swimming. The 10x6 metre pool on test at Norman
Pannell School in Brownbill Bank has enabled children to swim 25
metres and develop a valuable life skill at the same time.
The success of the scheme is based on the versatility of the Skypool,
a galvanised steel panel pool which can be “suspended” from
the ground by its innovative framework. Normally installed as a
permanent pool for both commercial and domestic use, the Skypool
lends itself perfectly to being installed on a temporary basis in
public halls or gymnasiums.
Parry, who comes from Liverpool, said:- “We have been working
with Astralpool for some 18 months now to develop a pool that will
drastically improve the access children have to swimming lessons. We
figured by using a temporary pool in schools we could really make a
difference, and that is what we have done. The test at Norman
Pannell School has been going great, giving lots of children the
opportunity to learn to swim and develop the required skills for Key
Stage 2. We’re now looking forward to taking the pool on a road show
to other schools across the country.”
Many school children do not have access to regular swimming lessons
due to the cost of hiring out public pools and the time and expense
of transporting children to and from it. Astralpool and Parry’s
company, Total Swimming, have been working in partnership with
Liverpool City Council to develop the Talent Pool, a project which
has the potential to teach 1440 pupils a term.
This is the first viable temporary swimming solution for schools and
a fantastic opportunity to introduce children to the health benefits
of swimming. Each child taking part receives 10 lessons per term and
a pupil to teacher ratio of 8 to 1. Every class consists of 3
teachers and is organised in to a program that is taught on an
intensive basis, which has been proven to provide the best results
when teaching children to swim.
Liverpool City Council’s Executive Member for Children’s Services,
Councillor Paul Clein, commented:- “The mobile swimming pool
is a fantastic concept. The fact that Liverpool schoolchildren are
benefiting from the first temporary swimming pool anywhere in the
country is testament to the great strides being made in the sport in
this city. Teaching children to swim is a vital life skill,
and it’s an important part of our Children and Young People’s Plan.
The council is working very closely with the School Sports
partnerships, Total Swimming, Astralpool, Your Travel and Liverpool
schools to make sure every Liverpool child can swim at least 25
metres. And we’re delivering some excellent results. The mobile
swimming pool is the latest innovation in the city’s swimming drive.
Our intensive 10-day swimming programmes, launched in 2006, have
already helped us teach 2,000 additional schoolchildren to swim, and
we give all our young people under the age of 18, a leisure pass so
they can go to any of the council’s leisure centres – for free.”
Alan Price, head teacher at Norman Pannell School added:-
“Norman Pannell recently achieved ‘Healthy Schools’ status and we
are constantly looking at ways of promoting exercise. This swimming
pool initiative has come at just the right time for us, with all the
children in school managing 6 hours swimming. Even the 3 and 4 year
old nursery children have enjoyed a swim. There has been a
noticeable improvement in the confidence and self esteem of the
children which has been reflected in other areas of the curriculum.
The children are more alert and attentive in class. We are proud to
be associated with this swimming initiative as it has brought great
enjoyment and achievement to the school.”
If rolled out nationally, the scheme could help thousands of
children learn to swim and help improve the international
competitiveness of British swimming. The Talent Pool
initiative allows for a cost effective intensive swimming programme
with the highest quality teaching combined with a low pupil to
teacher ratio. |
