Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC March 2025 Newsletter

Keep Dancing March!

Keep Dancing March was all about finding our inner Bollywood film stars and keeping our tap shoes tapping!

In March we danced a Bollywood Dance Choreographed by Faye O’Connor and a Tap Dance also Choreographed by Faye O’Connor.

Fancy having a boogie at home to Keep Dancing March’s tunes? Click here to access the playlist!

Class Updates

As a reminder there were a few changes to Keep Dancing for Carers 2025:

Keep Dancing for carers online will now run on a Tuesday 9:30 am-10:30 am

Keep Dancing for carers at Shenley Court will now run on a Tuesday 11 am- 12 pm

Follow the link here to book your place.

From the 6th of February onwards Keep Dancing Marston Green will run at the slightly earlier time of 13:10-14:10, due to a change in bus timetable

Paying by Cheque Updates

We have a little update on how to pay by cheque.

If you choose to pay by cheque, please can you ensure that cheques are sent in the post to this address: 

XPRESS YOURSELF
PO Box 18828
OLDBURY
B69 9HX

Cheques will not be accepted at the class.

When paying by cheque we please request

• :Cheques are made payable to Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC.
• You write the dates you wish to attend on the back of the cheque.
• Please note that once the cheque has been received the dates you have booked are not transferable.
• You write your address and telephone number on the back of the cheque.
• As you do not book online, we will also need to be informed of an emergency contact number for you.
• Please note the envelope will need a stamp.

Thank you for your support

Paying by Card

🌟You said, we did! 🌟
We’ve listened carefully to your feedback and integrated card
payment into our website! This means you’ll be able to pay for classes by
card, making booking your class an even easier process!
Simply visit https://xpress-yourself.co.uk/dance-classes/, choose your class, and select the Credit/Debit Card option at checkout.

If you are choosing to book by card please ensure that you check the amount of places you are booking before confirming your order. If you are accidentally booking an additional space your card will be card for all places.

Don’t hesitate – book your class today!

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month

‘National MS Education and Awareness Month is observed in March of each year, a nationwide effort by MS Focus: the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and affiliated groups to raise the public’s awareness of multiple sclerosis.’

Multiple sclerosis (MS), is a chronic illness of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord. MS occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers, leading to a range of physical and cognitive symptoms.

Organisations such as the National Multiple Sclerosis society host events, share resources and raise awareness about the impact of MS on individuals and their families. The goal is to gain understanding, support research for a cure, and provide education on how to live with MS.

If you need support for MS for yourself or a family member you can click this link Join a Support Group or Program | National MS Society to receive the support you deserve 💗

International Womens Day 2025

International Womens Day 2025 focussed on how we can Accelerate Action to achieve full gender parity.

Ways you can support Accelerate Action:

• Supporting women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and STEM
• Helping women and girls make informed decisions about their healthI
• Involving women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security
• Providing women and girls with access to quality education and training
• Elevating women and girl’s participation and achievement in sport
• Promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls

The International Womens Day website states

“Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.”

How did you celebrate International Womens Day? Perhaps you celebrated with your fellow female dancers at a Keep Dancing class?

Let us know in the comments!

BCOP Handy Person Services

BCOP supports older people in the West Midlands through many services,

Currently, BCOP is offering handyperson services throughout Birmingham to help older people to with practical tasks to make their lives easier in and around their homes.

This is a charged service but please be assured that all of the skilled and qualified tradesmen are also DBS cleared and directly employed by BCOP. All prices are discussed up front and are competitive with other companies.

Here are some of the services BCOP handyperson can provide:

• Small repairs – putting up curtain rails, shelves and pictures
• Safety measures – fitting smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and grab rails
• Home security – door and window locks, door chains and door viewers
• Energy efficiency – installing draught excluders, radiator heat reflectors and energy efficient lightbulbs

If this is something you feel could benefit you, please follow this link and fill in this enquiry form

Mental Health Support

If you need help for a mental health crisis or emergency, you should get immediate expert advice and assessment.

It’s important to know that support services are available for you to access, whatever you’re going through. You can get urgent Mental Health Support from 111 online or by calling 111 and selecting the mental health option. Alternatively you can ask for an urgent GP appointment. 111 will tell you the right place to get help. You may be able to speak to a trained mental health professional over the phone. A GP can advise you about helpful treatments and also help you access mental health services. You may be able to refer yourself to some services.

Free listening services These services offer confidential support from trained volunteers. You can talk about anything that’s troubling you, no matter how difficult: Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours Text “SHOUT” to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line,

Ke

Keeping in Touch

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.

Just a reminder that admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk office hours are Monday 8am-2pm and Thursday 8am-2pm.

Please ensure that you let us know of any changes of contact or emergency contact details.

Wish You Were Here

First of all, thank you to everyone who has sent images from their trips to contribute to our Wish You Were Here segment! If you still want to take part please email your trip pictures to admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk

In this months newsletter we are highlighting June Coxsey from Keep Dancing Sheldon on her trip to China in 2016!

Here’s what June had to say about her trip:

‘All taken in June, 2016.
Wonderful tour, fascinating and interesting place to visit. Went with my husband and 2 friends Alison & Dennis for 10 days. Amazing! 😊👍👌✈️’

The Great Wall of China, meaning the 10 thousand-mile wall when translated from Chinese, is a series of forts in China built to protect the northern borders of China from invasions and raids by nomadic tribes, especially from the Mongols. The Great Wall stretches approximately 13,170 miles when you include all its branches, making it the longest wall in the world. It is a symbol of China’s determination, strategy, and resourcefulness. The Great Wall of China reflects the country’s efforts to protect its culture and people from external threats.

Thank you to June for sharing such amazing pictures and wonderful words about her trip to China, I am sure you will agree that it looked like she had a fabulous time! 🌍

Resources for Carers

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.

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 compiled all our resources into one handy blog post for you! There is information about support, activities for carers and information about Carers IF card. Click here to access the blog!

Don’t forget we have a 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.

Find More Local Activities to Keep you Active

Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC understands the importance of Dance to keep your mind and body active and healthy, but joining other local activities can boost community spirit and your own wellbeing. We have collated activities for you to join in Acocks Green area and West Bromwich area. If you know of any other activities in your local area that you think your Keep Dancing friends will enjoy, please send the information to admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk. and we can get them into a handy blog post!

Dates for your diary:

April:

• Keep Dancing Garretts Green will not run on Monday 21st April
• Keep Dancing Acocks Green will not run on Monday 21st April
• Keep Dancing Sutton Coldfield will not run on Monday 21st April
• Keep Dancing Aldridge will not run on Monday 21st April
• Keep Dancing for carers Online will not run on Tuesday 22nd April
• Keep Dancing for carers Shenley court Hall will not run on Tuesday 15th April and Tuesday 22nd April
• Keep Dancing Shirley will not run on Tuesday 22nd April
• Keep Dancing Bentley Heath will not run on Thursday 24th April
• Keep Dancing Marston Green will not run on Thursday 24th April
• Keep Dancing Quinton will not run on Thursday 17th April
• Keep Dancing Sheldon will not run on Thursday 17th April
• Keep Dancing Moseley will not run on Thursday 17th April

May:

• Keep Dancing for carers Shenley Court Hall will not run on Tuesday 20th May

New Dancer Discount

Do you have a friend, neighbour or family member who would like to join a Keep Dancing class?

We have a brand new discount for dancers who are brand new to Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC, our New Dancer 6 classes for £12!

This deal is available for:

• Keep Dancing Sheldon
• Keep Dancing Shirley
• Keep Dancing Garretts Green
• Keep Dancing Aldridge
• Keep Dancing Harborne
• Keep Dancing Marston Green
• Keep Dancing Bentley Heath
• Keep Dancing Quinton
• Keep Dancing Greatest Hits

For NEW participants attending Xpress-Yourself Dance we have a special offer of block booking your first 6 classes for just £12. (Classes are usually £5.50 per class.) This is a special offer and can only be applied as a block booking. New participants should send the 6 dates of the classes via email to admin@xpress-yourself.co.uk after booking. Transfers of dates will not be offered and no refunds given.

Please note the NEW DANCER promotion is explicitly for dancers who are new to Xpress-Yourself Dance CIC. Please do not use this promotion if you already attend Keep Dancing classes at another venue. Thank you for your understanding.

EasyFundraising

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. 

Read Our Blog: 5 Effective Benefits of Bollywood Dancing for your Physical and Mental Health

March’s blog was a nod to our Bollywood Dance Routine as we gave you 5 benefits of Bollywood Dancing for your Physical and Mental health.

Take a read here, and let us know in the comments if you felt the Benefits from March’s Bollywood Dancing 👯‍♀️

April 2025 Dances

In April 2025 you will be learning a Swing Dance Choreographed by Faye O’Connor and a Bollywood Dance Choreographed by Faye O’Connor

Keep Dancing Greatest Hits will be dancing to 1. Under the moon of love – Showaddywaddy, 2. Sussuido – Phil Collins, 3. London Thumakada – Bollywood, 4. Popular Wicked – TAP and 5. If you leave me now – Chicago

We hope you’re as excited to Dance your way into April as we are!

We are 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 maintain our small business in 2025.

Thank you so much!

We love to boogie!

The Xpress-Yourself Team