Blind students learning ballroom dancing

Students at a blind college are learning ballroom dancing for the first time, inspired by Strictly Come Dancing winner Chris McCausland.

The pupils at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford have taken a dance exam and will be performing at a showcase on 28 June in Worcester.

The college's executive principal, Lucy Proctor, said the opportunity to learn to dance had been "incredibly powerful" for the students.

Student Storm, 19, said: "It's given me the realisation that just because I've lost my sight, it is still something I am able to do and achieve."

It comes as a result of a partnership between the college and Step Change Studios, which was established by Rashmi Becker in 2017 to provide opportunities for disabled people to dance.

She created the country's first dedicated blind ballroom programme and has seen demand grow – especially with McCausland's Strictly win.

She approached Worcester-based Translucent Dance Studio, who had not worked with blind students but were excited to support the initiative.

Becker and one of her blind students provided training to support Translucent Dance Studio to lead a year-long programme of dance for students at the Royal National College for the Blind.

The students are supported by local sighted volunteers and college staff, and attend weekly classes at the college, learning a mix of ballroom and Latin dance.

Proctor said: "This is something we've not been able to offer students before. With Chris McCausland having won Strictly, so many students have been inspired so the opportunity for them to learn to dance was something we couldn't turn down.

"The benefits they're getting - their confidence, pride, physical fitness, co-ordination, and spatial awareness - it's such a fantastic set of skills for them, and they just enjoy it.

"The openness and accessibility to something they either thought they would never be able to do, or is something they might have enjoyed in the past before losing their sight, has been incredibly powerful for all of them."

Dance teacher Matt Lucas from Translucent Dance Studio said: "I was really excited to start working with the students but also nervous.

"The students have been doing so well and are really enthusiastic. They all gained highly commended results in their first exam, and are progressing to more challenging sequences.

"I'm so proud of what they have achieved and I look forward to the summer performance."

Storm, who used to dance before she lost her sight, said: "Classes are really fun. It's interesting learning to dance knowing what it looked when I had vision, and having insight on how to do it now.

"The way classes are delivered are really well thought out from a blind perspective.

Becker said: "As a little organisation, we're able to support more disabled people across the country through collaborations with like-minded partners.

"The Royal National College for the Blind and Translucent Dance Studio plan to continue the programme beyond the life of the funding, which is fantastic and a testament to the positive impact of dance in bringing people together."

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