Member Article

Award winning social enterprise launches in West Yorkshire

A social enterprise launched by a former professional dancer to bring affordable dance, fitness and wellbeing programmes to everybody who wants them is holding a West Yorkshire launch event on Friday 15 July at Tenants Enterprise Hall, Middleton, Leeds with free taster dance classes available at 10.30am and 12.30pm on the day.

Nouveau Wellbeing Community Interest Company is the brainchild of founder County Durham based Bethany Ainsley, 29, who has recruited trained dance instructor Sophie Simpson, 33, from Huddersfield to deliver a range of classes in the North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire region.

The social enterprise delivers its dance, fitness and wellbeing classes across 75 community venues reaching over 1500 residents a week for as little as £2 a session and sometimes free. Nouveau works in partnership with local community groups and organisations such as West Yorkshire Sport, which connects providers of sport and fitness with residents affordably as a means to addressing underlying social and health issues.

Sophie said: “I don’t think there are many opportunities for people who haven’t danced or done exercise in a long time to access something as affordable as this. It’s about having fun and making friends; I think people get into a rut and believe they have too much of a mountain to climb to get back into regular exercise. But this is not the case; we have classes like chairobics, which is done sitting down and means even where mobility is an issue we can still offer an opportunity.”

Sophie also heads up a professional dance troop that has won eight national titles with routines that incorporate all styles, from contemporary and salsa to street, bollywood and even baton twirling; she’s performed in Blackpool, the House of Commons and has been the subject of a television documentary ‘Pride of Yorkshire’.

“I love dancing but even more than that I love to use the classes I take to reach people and help them help themselves. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone develop a love of the classes, improve their fitness and often make friends along the way.”

Classes are delivered in a relaxed community setting, with Sophie even delivering classes in care homes such as the one pictured in the Armley area.

“Even if people are perhaps too frail or immobile to get up and dance, being able to hear the music and be part of the atmosphere can be a tremendous boost to morale. We are age inclusive so we also have kid’s sessions like the one we deliver in Beeston Village Community Centre.”

From its Peterlee head office Nouveau Wellbeing employs 16 staff, an increase of 6 inside 12 months and has boosted turnover beyond the £300,000 mark a significant increase in trading on the year before. Programmes have become as diverse as free ‘Cook with Us’ cookery classes aimed at helping people to prepare a meal for four for under £5 to the delivery of work place health programmes in company offices.

Bethany, who is the current North East Young Business Person of the Year, said: “We are dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles and positive well-being. Our mission is to engage people, where ever they are, in fun and affordable physical activity and to encourage increased fitness levels, personal development and healthy life style choices.”

Currently classes in West Yorkshire are delivered at the Cardigan Centre, Burley Lodge Centre, Coburn High School, Meanwood Community Centre and Beeston Village Community Centre. To find out more visit: www.nouveauwellbeing.com or call 0191 5878154.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 2B Communications Limited .