Notes to editors

1. For media enquiries only please contact the Department of Health newsdesk on 020 7210 5221

2. The 11 Dance Champions are:

• · Rod Aldridge OBE, Chair of the Dance Champions Group
• · Angela Rippon, former Come Dancing presenter and former chair of the English National Ballet
• · Lisa Snowdon, Capital Radio presenter and former contestant on Strictly Come Dancing
• · Darren Bennett, Professional champion ballroom and Latin American dancer and star of Strictly Come Dancing
• · Roger Mosey, BBC Director of the London 2012 Olympics
• · Janet Archer, Director of Dance Strategy for the Arts Council England
• · Daran Bennet, Physical Activity Alliance
• · Miguel Doforo, expert dance coach and of MD Showgroup
• · Andrew Hanson, Head of Policy, Central Council of Physical Recreation
• · Margaret Peggie OBE, Former Chair of the Exercise Movement and Dance Partnership, and Vice President of the Fitness League
• · Arlene Phillips, judge on the forthcoming BBC programme 'So You Think You Can Dance' and Youth Dance England patron


3. For more information about the Dance Champions log on to www.dancechampions.org.uk

4.  All the Dance Champions are giving their time for free


5. The Dance Champions group will be launched at 1pm at the Clore Ballroom on Thursday 15th October 2009.


6. Rod Aldridge is an entrepreneur and Chair of the Aldridge Foundation, which uses entrepreneurship and education to improve the lives of disadvantaged young people and their communities. The Foundation recently piloted a scheme to teach children ballroom and Latin dance in school PE lessons. An independent evaluation by Roehampton University found that it significantly improved participants' health, self-esteem and peer relationships with notable improvements in classroom behaviour and attainment. For more information visit http://www.aldridgefoundation.com/essentially_dance

For more information about the Aldridge Foundation visit http://www.aldridgefoundation.com/


7.  The Dance Champions will be joined at the launch by a number of dance groups who will each give a short performance. They are Essentially Dance, MD Showgroup, Medau Movement and a group of older dancers who will perform a Latin American dance routine.

8.  Essentially Dance is a new initiative to teach ballroom and Latin American dance within schools' core physical education provision. It is the first training package to be launched in the UK that will train school staff to teach students of all ages - from Key Stages 1 - 5 - and of all abilities - beginner, intermediate and advanced.

For more information about Essentially Dance visit http://www.essentiallydance.com/

9.  MD Showgroup are a group of young dancers aged between 9 - 17 from Liverpool. MD Showgroup appeared on ITV's Britain's Got Talent with a theatrical dance piece to Michael Jackson's 'They Don't Care About Us' expressing their feelings about gun and knife crime, abuse, bullying and racism.

For more information about MD Showgroup visit http://www.mdproductions.org/showgroup.html 
10.        Medau Movement is a dance based workout, involving cardio, moves for strength, stretch and suppleness, with a variety of music and rhythm, pace and mood.

For more information about Medau Movement

visit http://www.medau.org.uk/


11. The Dance Champion's Campaign is part of Dance4Life, a branch of Change4Life, the Government campaign to get people 'eating well and moving more, to live longer'

12. Southbank Centre is home to a vibrant programme of professional and participatory dance from around the globe. Occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most lively cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames, dance continues to be an integral part of the diverse programme of work that Southbank Centre offers, engaging a broad range of communities and audiences.