Aroundtown Magazine January/February 2024 edition

HEALTH & BEAUTY
Lottery funding a
Pivotal step
towards improving
health and wellbeing
Release your inner swan
How many of you had
childhood dreams of being a
ballerina?
Well, it’s never too late to chassé
those dreams with the help of
Dance with Lucie.
Experienced ballet teacher,
Lucie Weaver, runs Silver Swans®
ballet classes for older adults in
Rotherham.
Developed by the Royal
Academy of Dance specifically
for over 55s, the relaxed and
welcoming classes include barre
work and ballet sequences all set to
beautiful music.
Having trained at the Royal
Ballet School, Lucie has taught in
London, Dublin and Hong Kong.
She’s been dancing since the age
of three and wants to inspire others
to dance in later life.
The Silver Swans dancers
are of varying ages, abilities and
experiences, the eldest being a
lady in her 80s. Some danced as
children more than 40 years ago,
others have never danced a step in
their lives before joining.
But all agree that ballet training
has great benefits for general health
and well-being. It’s also an excellent
brain workout, co-ordinating
the movements.
There’s no competitiveness,
no strict teachers, and certainly
no leotards! It’s a chance to have
fun, stay active, and socialise
with others.
Rotherham’s Pivotal
Health and Wellbeing
CIC are offering free
health and wellbeing
sessions across the
town after securing
over £150,000 in
lottery funding.
The Eastwood-based
organisation was awarded a grant
of £153,788 from The National
Lottery Reaching Communities
Fund. This will fund a three-year
project to deliver new sessions
to people in Rotherham including
walking football, seated exercise,
and walking groups.
The funding has also enabled
the Pivotal team to reduce their
monthly pay as you go gym
membership from £35 to £20.
Run by Rob Newton and
Abbey Clayton, Pivotal Health and
Wellbeing became a Community
Interest Company in 2019. Since
then, they have stepped up
their services in the community,
reaching out to people in
Rotherham who wouldn’t usually
attend a gym session.
Thanks to other funding from
Voluntary Action Rotherham, they
have already provided free Pilates
sessions, exercise sessions for
community groups, and healthy
eating workshops.
The lottery funded project will
include a free seated exercise
class on Mondays at 2pm at their
studio on Fitzwilliam Road, great
for older people or those with
limited mobility. They will also be
running a walking football session
every Monday evening at 5pm
at the nearby Rotherham
Football Centre.
For those looking for a new
gym in 2024, being a Pivotal
member gives you access to
the fitness studio as well as all
their classes which include HIIT,
Zumba, boxing, Pound Fit, and
legs, bums and tums – all for just
£20 a month.
You’re never
tutu oldfor ballet
Monday at Wentworth
11am-12pm
The Mechanics Institute,
Main Street, Wentworth
S62 7TL
Tuesday at Brecks
10am-11am Janet Mitchell
School of Dance,
1A Brecks Crescent,
Rotherham S65 3HZ
Classes (term time only)
Ballet classes for adults
Improve your mobility,
posture, co-ordination
and energy levels
while having fun!
• No previous dance
experience required
• Aimed at over 55s but
anyone over 18 is welcome
Wednesday at Brinsworth
11.30am-12.30pm The Centre,
Brinsworth Lane S60 5BU
Thursday at Wickersley
10am-11am Silver Swans
11.15am-12.15pm
Adults Jazz class
Wickersley Community Centre,
286 Bawtry Road,
Rotherham S66 1JJ
£7 per class bookable in half term blocks
For more information, email
pivotalhealthandwellbeing@hotmail.com or
visit their website www.pivotalhealthandwellbeing.co.uk/
Taught by Royal Ballet School graduate, Lucie Weaver
07340 404 830
info@dancewithlucie.co.uk dancewithlucie.co.uk
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