Following on from the huge success of Socially Distanced Street Zumba in Crabtree and Bulwell Hall, This Girl Can is starting to take nearby Newmarket by storm and it will start the week with another Zumba-based bang on Monday (2 August).
This Girl Can has been a collaborative approach in the area with Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham City Council, Toy Library, and People’s Choice – the residents’ group of Crabtree.
The idea is that Charm, The This Girl Can Nottingham Community Motivator and Zumba instructor, arrives with her team of This Girl Can – Bulwell Ambassadors, including Ward Councillor Maria Joannou, to get people moving, wiggling and giggling while staying safe and socially distanced.
Councillor Joannou said: “Crabtree has never been more together. We’re hoping to bring the energy to Newmarket now and bring the two communities together. Emerging from lockdowns, this is a great way to inspire communities to become more active, improving their physical and mental health.”
The session runs from 12-2pm. It begins with a blast of energetic music as the team tours the area and encourages residents to get the party started and move their bodies. Experience says that residents are guaranteed to respond with enthusiasm. At previous sessions, several generations of families have been seen dancing in their gardens and at their gates.
While the sessions themselves are getting residents moving on their doorstep, the initiative is part of wider work, looking to create sustainable activity and engagement in the area. Activity is led by what the residents want – they are encouraged to ask for activities that they want to try.
From the sessions in Crabtree, the team has supported the community to set up Family Fitness, Women’s Football and Cycling sessions. There will be Zumba classes coming to Crabtree Community Centre in September.
This is week two of sessions in the area. There is a second Street Zumba session in Newmarket next week at the same time (12-2pm) on Thursday 5 August.
Councillor Eunice Campbell-Clark, Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture, and Schools said “This project is such a positive response to being locked down for such a long period. The sessions are a really joyful experience and a chance for everybody to let off steam in a really fun way. At the heart of this is the principle that it’s really important for people to move more. We really hope that initiatives such as this will start to address the health inequalities in the north of the city.”