Steps Dance Club
Origins
Since 2013, Levant Canada has worked hard to build positive, inclusive, community-centered spaces and programs to facilitate the settlement process for newcomers and refugees in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. In talking to community members about their struggles and needs, it became apparent that there was a gap in available programming that accommodates and caters to newcomers and refugees with disabilities.
Newcomers and refugees with disabilities face intersecting challenges with each identity, including language barriers, cultural differences, income disparities, discrimination, mental health issues, and more. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, many members of the Levant Canada community have reported feeling extremely isolated and that their physical and mental health has suffered.
We created the Steps Dance Club (SDC) by listening to and working with the community. The SDC offers a space for newcomers and refugees with disabilities to meet others with shared experiences and expand their social relationships while receiving the benefits of physical activity.
Goals:
We aim to provide a safe, accessible space for refugees and newcomers across the spectrum of physical, intellectual, and mental abilities to build connections within the community and increase their physical well-being through exercise. We are dedicated to continually improving the Steps Dance Club’s programming by collaborating with participants and community members to accept feedback and find creative solutions to complex problems.
In the Steps Dance Club, we aim to achieve 4 key goals:
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Create a safe environment that fosters participants’ confidence, healing, relationship-building, and self-love.
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Work with participants to meet their fitness goals by engaging in skill and ability-appropriate flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular exercises.
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Teach participants about the features and principles of various dance styles while developing skills including coordination, rhythm, spatial awareness, and working in groups and pairs.
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Facilitate social relationship building and strengthen community bonds between participants, with the aim of reducing feelings of isolation and loneliness to improve mental health and well-being.
Programming
Saturdays, 1:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions last 1.5 hours, and are designed to take into account participants’ diverse abilities and skill levels. Steps Dance Club instructors work directly with participants to ensure that programming is inclusive and productive, with a focus on the following main areas:
Proper physical preparation accommodated according to the unique physical needs of each participant, including a variety of ability-appropriate flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular exercises
Creating a safe, positive environment that fosters confidence, healing, relationship-building, and self-love in participants
Dance-specific skills with a main focus on coordination, rhythm, spatial awareness, and working in groups and pairs
Educating participants about the features and principles of different styles of dance (music, culture, improvisation, footwork, etc.)
