Hi! I'm Alison Edwards.
I have been a dance fitness instructor since 2015 when I took my Zumba Fitness qualification and I haven't looked back. Zumba is a real passion for me - I love dancing it, I love teaching it and I love seeing the effects it has on people - their smiles and laughter, the fun they have, the friendships they make and their fitness levels improving! I went on to take my Zumba Gold qualification which is a lower impact version of Zumba, ideal for the demographic of people that I was also hoping to teach. Zumba Gold works well for most people, but especially the 50 plus age group. It is a lower intensity, cardio programme but also focusses on coordination and balance which is particularly important as we age. During Covid, I did my Exercise to Music Group Fitness qualification which gave me a much broader training in teaching these classes. I have since followed that up with Fitsteps training. Fitsteps has blossomed from the hugely popular TV series 'Strictly Come Dancing. Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe, dancers from the series, put together a dance fitness programme combining Ballroom and Latin steps that could be danced without a partner. This is a great programme and especially popular for those who love 'Strictly'!
My latest training is Psalms and Stretches, a programme of stretching and also meditating on a Psalm from the Bible....... more info.
What I love about all these classes is the community of friendships that have built up over time. People come together in a relaxed and fun environment where they can feel at ease. There is no pressure to be perfect and they dance along not on to lovely Latin rhythms and but also to more familiar songs that they can also sing along to. For some people, these classes give them a break from their daily lives where they may be struggling or possibly not seeing anyone and it gives them fun and company for an hour or so as well as keeping them active.