voice
Dance for fitness and fun
Dance for
fitness and fun
by Lillian Kline
You may have heard of the success this year of the dance company e.motion21—
the company was invited to open the World Down Syndrome Congress in South
Africa. I went along to the launch of their documentary and was truly inspired by
the great work they are doing. Here Lillian Kline outlines the benefits of dance
more generally and discusses the question of inclusion.
Introduction
Dancing can be a powerful way to engage all people
with Down syndrome in physical activity and is a
common interest and skill area for many.
The numerous physical, health and social benefits
of exercise for children and young adults are well
documented. However children and young adults with
Down syndrome are less fit, have reduced muscle
strength and poorer balance than their typically
developing peers. A major impediment to their
participation is the lack of suitable programs to meet
their particular physical activity and exercise needs.
Barriers to participation
It is not news that the health of people with disabilities
including Down syndrome is far worse than that of
their non-disabled peers across a spectrum of health
outcomes from diabetes and obesity to oral health and
mental health (WHO and World Bank Group 2011).
What is lesser understood is the fact that many of the
health differences are socially determined rather than
due to particular characteristics of the disability itself.
(Emerson et al 2011).
People are disabled by society, not just their bodies
(WHO 2011). In Australia, the limited research that
exists on community attitudes towards people with
disabilities demonstrates that negative attitudes are
the basis of discrimination and act as a barrier towards
social and economic participation.
Dance can play a role in shifting people’s outdated
attitudes around the abilities of people with Down
syndrome. Society is still learning about the potential of
people with disabilities and performances can showcase
the abilities of people with Down syndrome in a fresh
and fun way. Dance is frequently a way for their natural
abilities and personality to shine, perhaps for the first
time outside traditional settings like the classroom or
supported workplace. With a focus on age appropriate
classes, individual development and purposeful
choreography, dance can be specifically designed to
meet the niche needs of the participants to foster their
continued growth and success.
The e.motion21 story
Strategically, e.motion21 is a not for profit provider of
specialised dance programs exclusively for people with
Down syndrome with the aim to improve their fitness,
wellbeing and social skills. Blending the natural interest
and skill area of many people with Down syndrome
with tailored teaching methods is proving very
successful in providing an engaging and motivational
physical activity choice.
It makes me feel like I fit in, have friends —I enjoy
the dancing! (Teenage dancer 2012)
Cate Sayers founded e.motion21 in April 2009 because
her daughter Alexandra, who has Down syndrome,
really wanted to dance and there was not a dance class
available that would meet her particular learning needs.
Concerned about her daughter’s lack of regular physical
activity, Cate was keen to support her desire to dance
as a way to get her huffing and puffing to improve
her health. What started as a movement activity to
Voice, December 2012. Down Syndrome Victoria and Down Syndrome NSW Members’ Journal
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voice
Dance for fitness and fun
support the health of one child has grown to become a
powerful program of weekly physical activity for many
children and young adults with Down syndrome.
In three years dance enrolments have grown from
six to over one hundred and fifty participants with
an equal gender ratio. Increased awareness of the
program’s impact has resulted in families traveling vast
distances across Victoria to access the weekly classes.
New locations for people aged four to thirty-five years,
continue to be established throughout metropolitan
and regional Victoria to meet the growing demand from
the Down syndrome community. These extraordinary
efforts undertaken by families demonstrate the dearth
of such physical activity offerings in Victoria and indeed
around Australia.
rarely shines as a result of her abilities and is often
left (accidentally) on the fringe unable to keep
up with the pace of the game, conversation or
interaction. This is through no fault of anyone, it is
just how it is.
Disability-specific programs like e.motion21 enable
my daughter to shine and even to be the best in
class sometimes! She has a lot of fun, develops
skills and friendships in an environment where
she is normal and can be a risk-taker without
jeopardising her self-esteem or exposing herself as
being different to others. She is never left behind
in this purpose-built environment and in fact can
be a leader and role model in class—how great
is that!
Social opportunities for participants are fostered
in a supportive environment as participants are in
age-appropriate classes for over forty weeks per
year. These social opportunities not only provide a
wonderful opportunity for peer social interaction
between the dance participants, which flows into time
outside the dance program, but it also bolsters selfesteem not just in the participants themselves but also
in their family members through weekly engagement
with peers from the Down syndrome community.
Inclusive or not?
The National People with Disabilities and Carer
Council says the following:
…people with disabilities want to live in a society
where they are treated equally and with respect,
dignity and importantly with equality, and not as
poor things nor merely as recipients of services.
They do not want to be segregated as ‘people with
disabilities. (2009)
There are some people who express concern in
relation to whether or not there should be specific
programming for people with disabilities as opposed
to including them in mainstream activities. Cate
Sayers says:
…most people naturally gravitate to other people
who have similar interests and abilities. We all
desire authentic friendships and these are often
achieved through participating in activities with
peers and through social opportunities with
like people.
My daughter has many mainstream friends from
her school, family connections and siblings, but she
always has to work really hard in those settings,
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Dance is a wonderful way to engage people with
Down syndrome, their parents, siblings and the wider
community. A channel for peers, parents and the wider
community to build relationships, dance can powerfully
promote awareness of the abilities and potential of
people with Down syndrome.
An important by-product of disability specific programs
can be the informal development of connections for
families and siblings via the establishment of parent
networks that often expand outside the program. This
has the potential to promote better social inclusion and
community support for children and young adults with
Down syndrome.
During Down syndrome awareness week, e.motion21
presented a feature length documentary at the Jam
Factory about its work and recent trip to South Africa
to perform at the World Down Syndrome Congress.
Lillian Kline is a parent whose child dances
with e.motion21.
Voice, December 2012. Down Syndrome Victoria and Down Syndrome NSW Members’ Journal