Come wheelchair dancing at Radcliffe Civic Suite

Date published: 07 July 2010

Weekly wheelchair dance classes are starting up at Radcliffe Civic Suite from Thursday July 8.

The class is aimed at wheelchair users of all abilities and interested able-bodied people who would like to start learning to dance.

The sessions have been organised by Ray Bulpitt, who said: “With our excellent program and careful build-up it is something that everyone can do.”

He said that careful attention is paid to the particular needs of each dancer. The civic suite has good disabled access and a large car park, in line with Ray’s aim to make the classes as accessible as possible.

The Thursday classes run from 5.30pm to 6.30pm and cost £4. Styles include ballroom, Latin and sequence, and no experience is necessary.

People are welcome to come and watch a session or if there are any questions to contact Ray on 07828 201044.

Ray is training a team of dancers who will compete in the UK Wheelchair Dance Sport Championship in Birmingham in November. “This is the first ever International style National Championship to be held in the UK and there will be competitors coming from all corners of the country,” said Ray. “The dancers are training really hard and putting in a lot of hours in preparation.”

Some of the couples attended the annual conference of the United Kingdom Alliance in Blackpool, where Wheelchair Dance was introduced for the first time ever as an examination subject.

In lectures and classes conducted by top European coach Andrej Micunek from Slovakia the dancers were put through their paces learning new choreography. “As part of the new Mobility Department, our dancers have access to the full range of medal tests that are available in all the other disciplines,” said Ray. Dancers from the Strictly Wheelchair Dancing group in Wythenshawe are planning to take their first exams in August.