LISTEN: Students dance their way through lockdown

It might seem strange with social interaction at an absolute low, but Blaze Cheer and Dance director Becci Cunningham says the lockdown has made her students closer than ever.

In line with government ruling, Becci was forced to postpone sessions, which are held at Copley Academy in Stalybridge, until further notice.

However, she has overcome the problem by launching daily videos and packages for her members to do at home, whilst fun activities, including quizzes, bingo and Eatster egg dressing, have also taken place.

Speaking to Reporter Sport, she said: “At first when it was all looming, I was really nervous about having to close for lots of reasons. We have lots of classes each week and we had competitions coming up. The kids live for Blaze, so in the week leading up to the closure, we started to film classes that we could put on Instagram and Youtube, but then we heard about Zoom. We made an Instragram page that was for Blaze members only, and we post videos on there and work sheets with challenges. Since we started using Zoom, we’ve been doing classes every day, with up to 20 classes per week. I’ve transformed my kids’ play room into a dance studio, so that when I film it looks a bit more professional.”

In a bid to spice things up, Becci created ‘Blaze Has Got Talent’ - an idea that was well received and attracted a number of different performances, including magic tricks and training a dog to do special moves. The winner of the competitions have received a new hoodie with the Blaze logo attached to it.

And when she isn’t taking lessons, Becci has kept herself busy during the lockdown by raising funds for the NHS. She said “I print the Blaze t-shirts and jumpers myself, so I have a printing machine at home and decided to print car stickers, in the shape of a love heart, with the NHS logo on. 

“I’ve printed 100 of them and set up a Go Fund Me page so that all the money goes directly to the charity. I asked that people donate at least £2 and so far, after posting 25 stickers, we’ve raised £214.

“I have another 75 stickers left, and some people have donated £30 for a sticker, so the response has been amazing.”

While the current situation is taking its toll on many people, Becci said the lockdown has brought her group of pupils closer together.

And she says the club can learn from the experience in the long term. 

“It’s not great for anybody, but it’s made the club feel more of a community, which feels very weird as we’re so far away from each other” she said.

“It’s certainly made us a lot more active on social media and we’re being more creative in the process.”

Like most clubs up and down the country, Becci says she has been hit financially, although the damage isn’t too bad and won’t affect her going forward.

She has also moved to praise Copley Academy for freezing rent. “I’ve been able to reduce fees for parents because we’re not paying any rent, and I’ve also withdrawn subscriptions from apps such as Coacher. I’ve been able to pay my coaches which was my main concern, so I have to thank Copley Academy for their understanding in all of this.”