Hello and welcome to our March newsletter,        

This newsletter will update you on all things Keep Dancing.

Keep Dancing classes in March were all about Disco 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:                          
      

• Keeping in Contact
• Frequently Asked Questions
• West Midlands Fire Service Safe and Well Checks
• Keeping Warm This Winter
• Are You Email Scam Aware?
• Resources for Carers
• Keep Dancing Class Bookings    
• Creating An Account With Us   
• Keep Dancing March 
• Keep Dancing Soundtrack of March
• Keep Dancing Timetable      
• Paying By Cheque
• Leave Us a Google Review
• Contacting GP Surgeries
• Volunteers Needed
• Board of Directors Recruitment
• (Please don’t) Let it Snow let it Snow let it Snow
• Keep Dancing West Bromwich
• Keep Dancing Quinton
• Keep Dancing Bentley Heath update
• Keep Dancing Moseley update
• Keep Dancing Garretts Green Barchester Health Cheque Presentation
• 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!      
• 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 April 2024          
• Read our BLOG: 5 Benefits of Disco Dancing

Keeping in Contact

To avoid missing out on emails and important updates, please ensure both admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk and hello@xpress-yourself.co.uk are marked as safe email address. Additionally, make sure to always check your spam – just make sure the email address of the sender is one of the above.

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

You can report suspicious emails by forwarding them to report@phishing.gov.uk, or if you receive an unusual text message you believe could be a scam you can forward it to the number 7726 for free.

If you believe you have been victim to a scam or fraud online, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or you can report online here.

Visit here for more information on avoiding and reporting online scams.

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 have our Carer Support Birmingham blog which can be accessed here. We also have a new Carer Support Sandwell blog which you can check out here. We will continue to update these with resources, so be sure to keep checking in!

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. This is the link for booking: www.xpress-yourself.co.uk/dance-classes

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.

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: https://xpress-yourself.co.uk/classes/uncategorised/service-fee/

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. 

When inputting your details, whether during checkout or when setting up your account, please ensure you include an up-to-date emergency contact number.

Keep Dancing March 

Keep Dancing Bentley Heath – ‘Ah ah ah ah’

Keep Dancing Marston Green – ‘Stayin’ Alive, Stayin’ Alive’!

Keep Dancing Moseley – reach for the sky!

Keep Dancing Soundtrack of March

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!

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, or check out our Volunteers Wanted blog here.

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.

(Please don’t) Let it snow let it snow let it snow.

Should we experience severe weather and we make a decision to cancel your class that you have been booked onto, you will receive an email prior to the class to inform you. An update will also be posted to the Facebook page here.

If we cancel the class we will automatically transfer your booking to the following week. You will only need to email us if you cannot make the next class and would like to move your booking to another future date.

Should you decide that you will not be attending the class and it goes ahead, there will be no transfer offered in line with our booking policy.

Thank you for your understanding and we are hoping for no snow!

Keep Dancing West Bromwich

Book your space now for Keep Dancing West Bromwich! Every Wednesday, 11.30am – 12.30pm in the West Bromwich Leisure Centre dance studio.

The class has been supported by The National Lottery which mean the class is heavily subsidized and will just be £2! You can book your place here. Come and join our lovely dancers for a bit of gentle midweek exercise.

Keep Dancing Quinton

Start your morning off right with our Keep Dancing Quinton class, every Thursday 9.15am – 10.15am at Quinton Methodist Church.

If you would like to join us (or know someone who might!), you can book your class here. New dancers can book their first class for just £1.50 using the code newdancer at checkout. So why not come along and give it a go?

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 11.30am – 12.30pm!

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. New classes are published here every Monday at 10am, so be sure to book quickly to avoid disappointment.

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 cannot find your Keep Dancing Moseley class on the website, it is most likely sold out and has been removed. Sometimes the class will not be removed from the website immediately, so if you are trying to book Keep Dancing Moseley but it does not take you to checkout, it is likely sold out.

If you book a place but can’t make it, please do let us know so someone else can come along.

If you would like to be added to the waiting list for Keep Dancing Moseley, just pop us an email. We’ll let you know if a space becomes available.

If you are able, our Keep Dancing Harborne runs on a Tuesday 13:30-14:30, and our Keep Dancing Shirley class on a Tuesday 13:00-14:00. 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. Booking in advance (as always) is essential!

Keep Dancing Garretts Green – Barchester Health Cheque Presentation

As you may or may not be aware the class has been funded by YNNS for the last two years, allowing us to run the class for FREE. Unfortunately, the YNNS funding ceased on Monday 11th December. 

However, generous funding from Barchester Health allows us to run the class for just £4. We appreciate this is certainly a huge increase for you in terms of costs, but we are incredibly grateful to our dancers, as well as Barchester Health, which will allow us to continue running Keep Dancing Garretts Green at a reduce rate.

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

Thank you for your continued support.

Keep Dancing Garretts Green accepting a cheque from Scott from Barchester Health – thank you to all our dancers who proudly represented us!

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

All the places for our next Sutton Coldfield NNS tea dance on the 26th April are now booked to capacity and we have a waiting list in place.

The good news is that you can now book for our next tea dance on Friday 28th June. Please email admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk to book your place. 

Please note that if you have attended our first two tea dances you will be put onto the waiting list and should spaces be available closer to the date your place will be confirmed.

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

We immensely enjoyed hosting the Building Community Together Tea Dance at Acocks Green on Monday 25th March. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us! 

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 for Carers Shenley Court Hall will not run on Wednesday 1st May

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

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

Keep Dancing Sutton Coldfield will not run on Monday 6th & 27th May

Keep Dancing Aldridge will not run on Monday 6th & 27th May

Keep Dancing Garretts Green will not run on Monday 6th & 27th May

Keep Dancing Sheldon will not run on Thursday 13th June

Keep Dancing Moseley will not run on Thursday 13th June

Keep Dancing Quinton will not run on Thursday 13th June

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.

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 £208.75 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 – SOLD OUT
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 here

Follow us on Instagram @xpre55your5elfdance

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

Thank you so much!

April Keep Dancing Dances

Dances for April will be Disco and Viennese Waltz, choreographed by Faye O’Connor.

Greatest Hits dances will revisit our rumba to Give Me a Little More Time, and our Musical Theatre number to Me Ol’ Bamboo.

Blog! 5 Benefits of Disco Dancing

Discover 5 Benefits of Disco Dancing 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