Dance for your life: Steps to better health with stories to inspire

Travel through a timeline of rhythm and motion, engaging with different examples of how the skills learnt through dance can transform health and wellbeing. With narratives throughout, the book culminates on how to 'get dancing'. This book is for everyone who values fitness and wellbeing whether you are an experienced dancer or a beginner. Dance for your Life is here for anyone interested in living well. Perhaps you have felt ill or low, or your children are looking for a new dimension to their lives. Has dance been on your radar as something to explore. Maybe you would like to bring more vitality into your life, or you are here driven by curiosity: what on earth has dance to do with living life better? All children should have the chance to express themselves through dance. To realise how moving your body equates to feeling good. People have developed new habits for life. Dance to live well. The world can change in a heartbeat! Your world can change in a Dancebeat! Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts. For it is no mere translation or abstraction of life. It is life itself. HENRY HAVELOCK (1859 - 1939), An English physician Dance is liberating, it's seen as an act of outward expression. Life is full of exciting opportunities, so step forward and take them. If you feel inspired to dance or to encourage others to, you must go ahead. Say yes to yourself and do it. Find out about transferable life skills learnt through dance. Read this book and discover. Creativity Discover the joy of movement Perseverance Respect Confidence Responsibility Social Skills Focus Flexibility Gratitude Spatial awareness Social distancing Becoming a more knowledgeable dance audience Leadership skills Musicality and appreciation of music Time management Pride of those around Inclusive movement Preparation for job interviews Enjoying an activity with older/younger people

About the Author :
Sue Hewgill PetersonRAD RTS Life Memberwww.suehewgillpeterson.comSue's connection with dance began at age 3 when she attended her first ballet classes in her hometown of Hartlepool, UK. When she was 10, she gained a place at the prestigious Elmhurst Ballet School, in Camberley, Surrey (now in Birmingham, England and associated with The Birmingham Royal Ballet ) and progressed as a student to train at the Royal Ballet School in London. Sue has had many exciting roles in the world of dance. From establishing her own dance studio and dancewear shop, which continue to run today, to working as the Head of Dance at Queen Margaret's Independent Boarding School in York. During this time she also taught for The Royal Ballet School's Associate Program. Everywhere she has gone her love of dance has been infectious, empowering hundreds of new dancers, many of whom have gone into the profession. She has performed in and choreographed many musicals and ballets and staged countless amateur and professional dance productions including pieces set to music composed especially for her. She has run and taught many prestigious Summer Schools including Yorkshire Youth Dance Theatre also for schools in Spain, Isle of Mann and Sarasota Ballet. She is proud to be a Life Member of The Royal Academy of Dance. Between 2004 and 2010 she lived and worked in North Carolina USA actively and passionately sharing her expertise as the Executive Director of Carolina Performing Arts Centre. In that post, she introduced the Royal Academy of Dance Graded and Vocational Examination System to Eastern North Carolina. After 2015 she returned to the USA, this time to Florida. Here she was a volunteer with The Sarasota Ballet Company and from 2018 was fully employed as Head of the Children's Program for The Sarasota Ballet School where she continued until September 2020. On returning to the UK, Sue developed very successful Silver Swans(c) classes for older learners as well as children's ballet classes in Sudbury Suffolk.Sue has a keen interest in volunteering. Roles include rehearsing shows with the Carolina Ballet Company in Raleigh NC to stewarding at the BBC Antiques Roadshow at The Royal Ballet School's Junior School, White Lodge Richmond Park, Surrey. Sue's philanthropic work extends to her role as Founder and President of the 'We Can Dance" Charity which raises money to enable children with Special Needs in the North of England to attend weekly dance classes and holiday workshops (www.wecandance.co.uk ). A percentage of the profits of her book, Dance for your Life, about the transferable life skills learned through involvement in dance, goes to supporting the work of this charity.She is a volunteer at Thomas Gainsborough's House Art Museum while in Sudbury and loves to travel. Sue shares her wealth of dance knowledge through her talk "Dance Keeps Me on My Toes" and her virtual Zoom course "Let's Pointe to Safety!" and in studio Silver Swans(c) classes for older learners. She also makes a mean pumpkin pie.

Review :
I am delighted that Sue has written this book highlighting how dance gives us so much in our lives. Anne Walker MBE: Businesswoman, dance teacher, speaker, mentor & best-selling author. I have known Sue Hewgill Peterson for more than thirty years as a colleague and teacher of great distinction and accomplishment. I am delighted that she brings her great love and knowledge of dance to inform this book, incorporating the joy of movement and offering a liberation of mind and body to its readers. No matter what the readers' dance interest or knowledge may be, here is richness and inspiration. Sandra Burnham, Examiner of the Royal Academy of Dance - Monterey, California, U.S.A. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED READING Dance for your Life! Your observations in the book are all the things that anyone can relate to. I liked seeing the different illustrations, they are inspiring. I could go on and on. This book is my Bible. Kathi Doepfner, Florida, USA, who attends adult ballet class. An amazing book. Throughout, passion, enthusiasm, and professionalism shine through. Your great wealth of experience and expertise add weight to a very important part of life affecting everyone and every aspect - personal, work, relationships, family. We need all the ammunition we can get to prevent government and education policy makers debasing and pushing the arts into their 'frivolous' category. The arts are essential to life. Movement is key to learning. Lynn Gregory, MA, educator and trainer, mentor, public speaker, consultant. I firmly believe that we need dance now more than ever. We need to find ways of bringing people together again, of improving their mental and physical health and of celebrating what it means to be alive. To dance is to live. Dance does all of this and more. This book demonstrates to teachers all over the world that they are not only teaching their own dance genre but they are also giving their pupils so many hidden transferable life skills. Through teaching dance we're creating lifelong behaviours, mindsets and passions. Dance widens access to the benefits and wellbeing that this incredible artform can offer everyone. Tim Arthur, Chief Executive, Royal Academy of Dance Global Headquarters, London