Hello and welcome to our February newsletter,        

This newsletter will update you on all things Keep Dancing.

Keep Dancing classes in February were all about dancing the Rumba and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

If you are a Keep Dancing regular, please do always get in touch if you have a new style of dance you would like to learn or if you have a song that really gets you moving. Your suggestions are always greatly appreciated.    
    
Your continued support choosing to keep dancing with us every week is greatly appreciated. Should you ever have feedback about a piece of music or particular dance please always do get in touch.   

     
In this month’s newsletter:                          
      

• Frequently Asked Questions
• West Midlands Fire Service Safe and Well Checks
• Keeping Warm This Winter
• Are You Email Scam Aware?
• Resources for Carers
• Carer’s Blog
• Keep Dancing Class Bookings    
• Creating An Account With Us   
• Keep Dancing February – Sutton Coldfield Tea Dance 
• Keep Dancing Soundtrack of February
• Keep Dancing Timetable      
• Paying by cheque
• Leave us a Google Review
• Contacting GP surgeries
• Volunteers needed
• Board of Directors Recruitment
• Welcome On Board
• Great News for Keep Dancing Bentley Heath!
• Keep Dancing Moseley update
• Keep Dancing for Carer & Quinton Update
• Keep Dancing Garretts Green update
• Keep Dancing Garretts Green Barchester Health Cheque Presentation
• Keep Dancing Acocks Green update
• Keep Dancing From Home       
• Sutton Coldfield Tea Dances
• Building Community Together Tea Dance
• New project. Keep Dancing for Carers! 
• New Project: Keep Dancing for Carers Downloadable Class!      
• New project. Let’s Dance! 
• Support us when you shop online            
• Just smile and keep dancing merchandise                      
• Thank you for your support!                           
• Find out the dances you will be learning in March 2024          
• Read our BLOG: 5 Benefits of the Twist to Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy

Frequently Asked Questions

Ever wondered what will happen to your booking in the rare event we need to cancel a class? Or do you have questions about why some classes are free while others have different prices? Check out our frequently asked questions blog post here for answers to these questions and more!

West Midlands Fire Service – Safe and Well Checks

West Midlands Fire Service offer free home safety checks to anyone living in the area who is concerned about fire safety and eager to learn how to reduce their risk. A fire officer visits homes and gives advice about important issues including kitchen safety, smoking materials, electrical safety, escape plans and supply free smoke alarms here.

Keeping Warm This Winter

Now the winter season is here, I’m sure many of us will be searching for efficient ways to keep warm without breaking the bank. Money Saving Expert have published an in depth article full of tips and tricks to warm up this winter. You can read the article here.

You can sign up to the Priority Services Register if you are either; of State Pension age, disabled or have a long term health condition, or are considered ‘vulnerable’ by your energy vulnerable’ by your energy network. Being on the Priority Services Register means your energy supplier can make your call a priority whenever you contact them. They will also provide their engineers with a password when they visit you so you can be sure they are genuine, and move your prepayment meter if you struggle to get to it. You can sign up for the register via your electricity operator’s website. Not sure who your electricity operator is? Type in your postcode here to find out.

Don’t forget – once you reach State Pension age you should automatically start receiving the annual one off Winter Fuel Payment. If you have not received this you can apply here via the Government website.

Are You Email Scam Aware?

Faye received these emails in her inbox. She opened it because it looked like a trusted email address. It probably was a trusted email address that has been hacked. Our email addresses can be hacked at any time and we know that this happened to some of our dancers.

If you were sent this email it could have been from a friend or family member. It might take you off guard. If you receive an email like from someone you know please always phone them to let them know that they email account has been hacked.

There are a number of precautions you can take to avoid becoming a victim of email hacking. To stay safe, you can read this article; 13 Steps To Keeping Your Email Safe and Secure

Resources for Carers

Here at Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC, we support carers. In addition to our carer classes on offer, we are also happy to provide resources to help support carers and hopefully make their responsibilities a little easier – we are more than happy to help!

We have been compiling resources for unpaid carers and putting them into one handy blog post to make navigating help easier. We will create separate blogs for Birmingham and the surrounding areas. We currently have our Carer Support Birmingham blog which can be accessed here.

Here are some examples of useful resources you can access (most of them are FREE):

Carers Emergency Response Service (CERS) – This service is FREE and runs across Birmingham and Solihull, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can call 0121 442 2960, or email Jane.Cleary@cers.org.uk to arrange an emergency care plan for up to 48 hours (72 hours on bank holidays). Long term care options can also be arranged.

Emergency support for carers in Sandwell – This website provides useful information about how to plan for an emergency, including links to valuable resources. There are also details on the free Carer’s Emergency Card Scheme.

Walsall Carer’s Hub – A hub of important information and resources. You can register for free with the service here.

Bridgit Care – If you want advice, resources or support, you can create your own free self-help plans, as well as access carer support information and speak to advisors.

Birmingham Buddhist Centre – Holding multiple FREE events and getaways for carers (see below), this is a great opportunity to relax, unwind, and meet other carers. For the carers breaks, you must be registered with Birmingham Carer’s Hub.

Keep Dancing Bookings

When booking for your Keep Dancing classes (even if you’re attending a class that is currently FREE because of funding) please can you ensure that you book through the website or let me know by email that you will be coming along.

Also please note that once you have booked and paid for your class the booking is not transferable or refundable if you cancel. 

Thank you in advance. Book your place for your next class here

Creating an Account With Us!

Do you find it tiring to repeatedly enter your contact details whenever you book your Keep Dancing class? Don’t worry, you can now set up an account to make the process of booking hassle-free. Alternatively, for a small fee of £1.50, we can set up the account for you! To pay the £1.50 service fee please go to our website here

By setting up an account, you will no longer have to input your contact details every time and can go straight through to booking your class.

When setting up your account please note we will send your password to your registered email address, which you can then change as per your preference. 

Keep Dancing February

If you enjoyed the music this month here is our playlist (click the image and it will take you to our YouTube Keep Dancing February playlist)

Keep Dancing Sutton Coldfield Tea Dance 

Friday the 23rd February saw our first Keep Dancing Sutton Coldfield Tea Dance, thanks to generous funding from Sutton Coldfield NNS. We had a lovely afternoon dancing to songs from the movies, delicious food from Westwood’s Catering, and also a random appearance from an extra in the trap door haha. 

Our next Sutton Tea Dance will be on Friday 26th April please book your place by emailing Olivia at admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk

Indulging in a delicious cream tea lunch!

All that dancing works up an appetite!

Looking dashing as always!

Two starlets ready for a night at the movies!

…5, 6, 7, 8!

A magical movie themed spread

A delectable sandwich selection from Westwood’s Catering

Keep Dancing Soundtrack of February

Want to practise this month’s dances at home? Here are the songs that you have been dancing to this month. You can listen to the playlist here.

Keep Dancing Timetable

Places for all classes are limited so booking in advance is essential.  Classes will always go on sale a week in advance on a Monday at 10am. 

See our timetable below for all of our Keep Dancing classes now running or about to launch! Keep Dancing Greatest Hits has now returned to a Friday.

Paying by Cheque

We are now incurring bank charges for paying in cheques, meaning that sadly we have to look at passing on the costs. At the same time we are aware that for some people paying by cheque is their only option and we would not want this to be too much of an inconvenience or prohibit anyone from joining our classes, so we have looked at how this extra cost can be shared. Therefore, if you pay for a class each week by cheque, the cost will be £5.80. However if you pay for more than one class at a time by cheque, we will pay the charge so that classes remain at £5.50 each. On the back of the cheque please make a note of which class dates you are paying for, as the bookings will be non-transferable or refundable, in line with all other bookings. Also, if paying by cheque, please make it payable to Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC and send it to Xpress-Yourself headquarters at 75 Wheatsheaf Road, Oldbury, B69 1SN. We are not able to accept cheques at class, thank you for your understanding.

Leave us a Google Review

Happy with our dance classes? Help us spread the word by leaving us a Google review here.

Contacting GP Surgeries

Thank you to everyone who has shared details of their GP surgery so far; we are grateful for your support. Please note we are still gathering this information as part of our marketing strategy. To fill out the form, click on the link below. Your responses will remain anonymous, and completing the form will only take a brief moment of your time, yet will greatly help us.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9jd4XpMXArlIbmpoXAlWwu_l65842gvJ6vy_pEiRkQUihIg/viewform?usp=pp_url

Volunteers needed!

We are looking to recruit volunteers to support our ongoing work. If you or someone you know is looking to make a difference in 2024 then perhaps you, or they may consider volunteering for us. You will be given training opportunities to further develop your skills.

Keep Dancing Host – maybe you know someone who would like the benefits of Keep Dancing (meeting new people, feeling a sense of community but unable to join in with the dancing). We would like to introduce our Volunteer Keep Dancing Hosts who will be responsible for welcoming people to our Keep Dancing classes, introducing them to other members, offering extra support to anyone who may need it, taking photographs of the session, and capturing any golden moments within our sessions. Our Keep Dancing classes run weekly.

Tea Dance Host – For our new project launching in 2024 in Sutton Coldfield we will need support running our tea dances, making teas and coffees, helping to set up the room and decorate the space and clearing up after the event. Our tea dances will be happening once a month.

Admin/marketing support– If you have experience in admin and marketing, and perhaps you love a spreadsheet and would like to utilise your skills on a voluntary basis. We would love to hear from you.

To find out more information about our Volunteering positions please email Faye at hello@xpress-yourself.co.uk

Board of Directors Recruitment

We are looking to further strengthen our board of directors. If you have skills or experience  in equality and diversity, finance or marketing, and you are looking to use your skills to support a growing organisation, then you may want to consider applying for the voluntary role of director with Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC.

Find out more information here.

Welcome On Board

Recently we welcomed Olivia Jones as our Part-time Administration and Marketing Assistant. Olivia will be supporting the daily running of the organisation and has already proven herself to be an incredible asset. You may receive emails from Olivia admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk so please make sure this is marked as a safe email address.

We also welcomed Jean Summerton (a regular keep dancing dancer) as a volunteer who will support the marketing of our Forward Carers CIC Keep Dancing for Carers project. Jean we very much look forward to working with you.

Thank you to you if you got in touch to support us a volunteer for our tea dances. We will be in touch with more information and dates.

Great News for Keep Dancing Bentley Heath!

Thanks to funding from Solihull Fairer Futures Fund, Keep Dancing Bentley Heath will now cost just £2! We are over the moon with this outcome, as I’m sure you are too! So grab those dancing shoes and come and join us on Thursdays 11.30 – 12.30!

Keep Dancing Moseley

Thanks to funding from Hall Green NNS, Keep Dancing Moseley will continue to run, fully funded and so the class is FREE. The class in October will also move to a new venue at The Shires, 218 Wake Green Rd, Moseley, Birmingham B13 9PQ.

Keep Dancing Moseley is exceptionally popular at the moment with the class being fully booked since January. We are sorry if you have been unable to attend the class. If you book a place but cant make it, please do let us know so someone else can come along. If you are able, our Keep Dancing Harborne runs on a Tuesday 13:30-14:30, or if you have caring responsibilities or have had caring responsibilities you may want to come along to our Keep Dancing for carers class (same usual keep dancing class) at Shenley Court Hall on a Wednesday 13:15-14:15, or our Keep Dancing Shirley class on a Tuesday 13:00-14:00. Booking in advance (as always) is essential!

Keep Dancing for Carers & Quinton

The Keep Dancing for Carers class held on Tuesdays at Shenley Court Hall will now be held on Wednesdays 1:15pm – 2.15pm. Keep Dancing Quinton will still be held on Thursdays, but at the new time of 9:15am – 10:15am.

We apologise for any inconvenience these new timings may cause but unfortunately for now this is the only way classes can continue to run whilst we recruit for additional dance artists.

We greatly appreciate your support at this time and we will keep you updated with any changes.

Keep Dancing Garretts Green

As you may or may not be aware the class is currently funded by YNNS and has been for the last two years.

The YNNS funding ceased on Monday 11th December. Thanks to funding the class has been able to run for FREE. Whilst we have other funding applications out awaiting approval/disapproval we would like to continue the Garretts Green in 2024. However, whilst we wait on funding applications we will have to charge £4 for Keep Dancing Garretts Green in order to keep the class running.

In the interim, your support would be greatly appreciated to help keep the class running.     You will of course be updated with any news.

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep Dancing Garretts Green Barchester Health Cheque Presentation

Keep Dancing Garretts Green accepting a cheque from Scott from Barchester Health. The generous funding from Barchester Health allows us to run the class for £4.

Thank you to all our dancers who proudly represented us!

Keep Dancing Acock’s Green

We have unfortunately had to postpone the running of Keep Dancing Acock’s Green due to lack of dancers and the venue no longer being suitable for the class. This was not an easy decision and we hope our Acock’s Green dancers are able to find another class they are able to attend. Our nearest classes are Keep Dancing Sheldon running on a Thursday 11am-12pm, Keep Dancing Garretts Green on a Monday 11.30am-12.30pm, or we have Keep Dancing Shirley on Tuesdays 1.30pm – 2.30pm.

We are hoping to receive further funding for the class so we could offer places at a reduced rate and find a more suitable venue. We will as always update you with any news and we thank you for your support.

Keep Dancing from Home

Keep Dancing From Home classes continue to run on Zoom. Our Wednesday 09:30-10:30 class will teach you the same routines that you are learning in our face to face Keep Dancing classes to make sure you don’t miss a step if one week you cant attend your usual Keep Dancing class.

Our Wednesday class will also become the class where we welcome people who are carers to dance with us online as part of our Keep Dancing for Carers project. If you dance with us regularly online or use the class as an alternative if you cannot make your usual Keep Dancing class you are still VERY welcome to join us.

If you know anyone with caring responsibilities who would be able to access our online class please do let them know!

On a Friday our Keep Dancing Greatest Hits class will recap dances that have been taught in precious months, so if you have a favourite routine that you would love to dance again watch out for the Greatest Hits dances.

Sutton Coldfield Tea Dances

Residents of Sutton Coldfield and neighbouring areas are welcome to now book for our second tea dance on Friday 26th April 2024. All tea dances will take place at Sutton Coldfield Methodist Church, 16 S Parade, The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Sutton Coldfield B72 1QY, with parking on site. This project has been funded by Sutton NNS and so is free to attend.

Places are limited to 30 people.

Building Community Together Tea Dance

The next BCT tea dance will be on Monday 25th March at Acocks Green Baptist Church. Please email Estelle to book your place estelledbct@gmail.com

Dates For Your Diary

NO classes will run the week commencing 1st April. The following classes will also NOT run on the week commencing 8th April:

Keep Dancing Harborne
Keep Dancing Quinton
Keep Dancing West Bromwich
Keep Dancing Sheldon
Keep Dancing Moseley
Keep Dancing for Carers Online
Keep Dancing for Carers Shenley Court Hall
Keep Dancing Greatest Hits

Keep Dancing Bentley Heath will not run on Thursday 2nd May

Keep Dancing Marston Green will not run on Thursday 2nd May

New Project: Keep Dancing for Carers!

Inspired by Keep Dancing participants stories of caring for loved ones and Keep Dancing classes being their happy hour of the week and opportunity to look after their own health and wellbeing, we are delighted that Forward Carers CIC has funded our Keep Dancing for carers project.

Two classes will run, one in person and one online for carers. If you know carers who may benefit from this Free Keep Dancing class please let them know.

We will also implement a downloadable Keep Dancing for Carers class, for those who are unable to make our classes in person. This will be a half hour pre-recorded online class, accessed through a link sent via email. Starting at once a month, this could become a regular opportunity so stay tuned.

What makes someone a carer? You or someone you know could classify as a carer without realising. Take a look at this article by Forward Carers CIC to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a carer.

New Project: Keep Dancing for Carers Downloadable Class!

We are excited to announce our brand new FREE pre-recorded downloadable class for carers. A monthly half hour session for those unable to join us for our online or in-person carer classes, but don’t want to miss out on the dancing.

The videos have been recorded in both a standing and seated capacity, just choose the one which works for you.

After booking the class, you will receive a link via email to download the video. The link will expire within 7 days.

Here at Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC we support carers. If you feel like you need additional support or advice we can make a referral to Birmingham Carers Hub. Please do just get in touch with us, we are happy to help.

Support us when you shop online

You will be unsurprised to hear that room hire for many of our groups has recently increased. We are keen to not increase our prices for Keep Dancing classes but we do ask for your support. 

If you are partial to a little bit of online shopping you can support Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC every time you shop. We are now registered with easyfundraising, which means you can help us for FREE. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself! All you need to do is sign up and remember to use easyfundraising whenever you shop online. It’s easy and completely FREE! These donations really will mount up and ensure that we can continue to run classes where you book by the week, and not by the month, with no price increase so please sign up to support here  

So far £42.32 has been raised. This money will be used towards a monthly hall hire at one of our nine venues.  Thank you to everyone who has signed up to support us and have been online shopping with us in mind, your support is greatly appreciated. 

New Merchandise!

Our new motto as seen above is now featured on what could be your very own mug. The perfect gift for the favourite dancer in your life or a nice little treat for yourself. 

Mugs are £10 inclusive of postage and packaging 
(Items are sent 2nd class recorded delivery) 

Mugs are ceramic white and are the motto is printed on both sides of the mug. Dishwasher and microwave friendly. 

If you would like to order one please visit our website 

Sweatshirts are also now available to order.

The sweatshirt is grey, lightweight with raglan sleeves and has gorgeous embroidery. 

£24 inclusive of postage and packaging 
(Items are sent 2nd class recorded delivery) 

We have the following sizes in stock and ready for immediate dispatch. 

Size 12 – QTY 3
Size 14  – SOLD OUT
Size 16 – SOLD OUT
Size 18  – QTY 2

Should you require another size please get in touch and we can get ordered for you. 

If you would like to order one please visit our website 

Thank you for your support

During these unprecedented times we have been so grateful for your continued support. Whether that be continuing to interact with our Facebook page, leaving us reviews, telling your friends about our classes and booking onto our Keep Dancing classes. Your support is truly appreciated and we hope to continue keep dancing into the future. 

If you have the time please ;

Leave us a Facebook Review here

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel 
 click here

Follow us on Instagram @xpre55your5elfdance

Increasing our social following will certainly help us rebuild our small business in 2024.

Thank you so much!

March Keep Dancing Dances

Dances for March will be

Greatest Hits dances will revisit our

Blog! 5 Benefits of the Twist to Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy 

Discover 5 Benefits of the Twist to Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy here.

If you would like the opportunity to be a guest blogger and feature in our newsletter. Get in touch!

We love to boogie!

The Xpress-Yourself Team