Last week, members of the Redbridge community met with Angela Rippon, MBE, Wes Streeting MP and BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing’s Kai Widdrington to show how dance has the power to transform lives.

The Colours of Redbridge Dance for Fitness programme has been making waves across the area as a way to improve fitness and wellbeing, overseen by expert instructors from internationally-acclaimed dance company Rambert.

The pilot project took part over 12 weeks last year with hundreds of people from Redbridge taking part. Overall, people saw their fitness and wellbeing improve (on average 17% during the course), and felt stronger, healthier and more confident.

These weekly classes were also an opportunity for people to learn, and be inspired by, different dance styles, including Indian dance, 70s disco, social dance, popping and locking, and Caribbean dance, all delivered by Rambert’s brilliant and diverse faculty. Classes were designed to be fun and accessible for all skill levels, and particularly aimed at older people and people with disabilities.

Colours of Redbridge are supporting the Let’s Dance campaign as their dance project has made such an impact on the local community. They will shortly be announcing their continued partnership with Rambert to deliver further sessions in Redbridge from April 2025.

Wes Streeting MP said: “As we all know, prevention is better than a cure, and dance can be an amazing way to stay fit. So, I want to see Redbridge and Britain get moving, keeping healthy through dance and keeping out of hospital, which is better for patients, our NHS and taxpayers. Projects like Dance for Fitness and Let’s Dance can be key parts of making that positive change in people’s lives to build strength through something fun. It’s so exciting to have Angela Rippon inspiring my local community and getting Britain dancing!”

Angela Rippon MBE and Let’s Dance founder said: “Dance is the perfect exercise to improve the health and wellbeing of mind and body, regardless of age or physical condition, and a great way to meet new people and beat isolation and loneliness.”

Pete Nichols, Colours of Redbridge Programme Director said: “We’re so proud of the Dance for Fitness programme in Redbridge as it is something that local community members have helped us to design and deliver. We are delighted to meet with Angela, Kai and Wes today to support the Let’s Dance campaign and show the power that dancing has had on our community.”

Roopal Mehta, Colours of Redbridge Community Producer said: “This is such a good way of getting everyone together. There aren’t many opportunities for disabled people to get involved in this kind of dance, so making it accessible really made a difference to me. Dancing is great exercise – you can enjoy yourself and get fit at the same time.”

Anyone wanting to get involved should look for updates on the Colours of Redbridge website or visit the Let’s Dance campaign website

About Colours of Redbridge
Colours of Redbridge is a programme of community-led arts and culture in the borough of Redbridge. It is part of Creative People and Places (CPP), a national programme from Arts Council England, where local people decide what culture happens in their area.
The programme supports people who live, work or study in Redbridge develop their own creative and cultural projects for everyone to enjoy.

As well as Arts Council England, the programme is supported by the following local organisations: Friends of Loxford; Muslimah Sports Association; SPACE Studios; Community Action Redbridge; Ilford Business Improvement District; and Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure.
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About Let’s Dance
Let’s Dance was born out of a simple idea: Dance has the power to transform lives. Their goals are to get people moving, connecting, and having fun together.
Let’s Dance have ambitions to raise awareness of the incredible physical, mental, and social benefits of dance; make dance easy to take part in, whether in a community hall, school, care home, or workplace; and unite communities through the joy of shared movement.

About Rambert
As one of the world’s most diverse companies of dancers, Rambert transforms everyday spaces by making dance that is awe-inspiring, adventurous, dynamic, and relevant, and taking it to neighbourhoods, across the country and the world.
Through classes and courses for people of all ages and abilities, Rambert want to ensure their work is inspiring, engaging and relevant to everyone.