Chalkhill’s over 55s dance their way to healthier life style

Residents aged over 55 who live on the Chalkhill estate in Wembley will soon be gathering at their local community centre for dance lessons from across the world. Metropolitan Housing Trust London (MHT London) will be holding lessons in belly dancing, latin ballroom, salsa and line-dancing on Thursday 12 March at 6:30pm.

MHT London residents will be able to sample the different forms of dance taught by qualified teachers. At the end of the taster session they will then decide on which they enjoyed the most to become a regular session at the community centre.

The aim of the session is to encourage residents to become more physically active and to also explore different types of dance, and it forms part of the Activate’s 55 Alive project. The initiative wishes to address the findings in the World Health Report: Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life, which highlights the link between inactivity and disability amongst over 55s.

Samantha Deb, Well-being Coordinator for MHT London, says of the sessions: ‘Dance is an excellent form of physical activity which is both fun and social. It’s great that we’ve already had some keen interest from our residents.’

She adds: ‘We’re focused on supporting our residents to enjoy a healthy lifestyle; this class and its subsequent sessions go towards that aim. Healthy food and information about healthy eating will also be available in the interval, helping to refuel them for the rest of the session.’