To mark ‘Women’s Sport Week’ we are celebrating some of the incredible work done by the Leeds Rhinos Foundation to encourage and support women and girls to get active.
Although Leeds Rhinos Foundation may most commonly be associated with rugby league, the charity actually delivers a variety of sports coaching with the aim of being more inclusive to boys and girls with a range of interests. As well as offering gymnastics and other multi sports coaching, one area that is growing in stature for the charity is dance.
In 2009 Leeds Rhinos’ Spencer Properties dance captain, Nicola Booth, set up the Rhinestones Dance Academy with the support of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation. Since then the number of young dancers learning to dance with the Academy has grown substantially – so much so that she now runs classes at three different venues for children aged 5-14.
Recognising the growing interest and demand for dance to be taught in schools, in 2014 Leeds Rhinos Foundation enlisted Nicola to join their team on a full time basis to deliver dance workshops in schools as part of the charity’s partner schools programme. This has proved to be a huge success with Leeds Rhinos Foundation now able to offer to a wider range of activities to the children they work with.
Speaking about the charity’s support for dance, Nicola said: “Dance is now a big part of what the Leeds Rhinos Foundation offer and I am proud of the work we do to encourage young children to get active and pursue their interests.
“Leeds Rhinos Foundation does a fantastic job in encouraging girls to play sports that are generally dominated by men and the numbers taking part in Rugby League shows it is working. We understand though that this isn’t for everyone and this is why it is important that we are able to offer alternatives such as dance.
“Many of the girls who join Rhinestones have older brothers who play rugby and want a pastime of their own. Dance is now closely linked with Rugby League because most Super League clubs have their own dance team. At the Rhinos we have the Spencer Properties Dancers and they have helped introduce young supporters to dance, who then subsequently want to know how to get involved in dancing themselves. This rising interest led to me stating up the Rhinestones Dance Academy and six years on I am delighted by how successful it has been and how it continues to grow each year.”
Nicola, who started to dance when she was 4-years-old said one thing she aims to do is make dance accessible for everyone.
“I know growing up how expensive it was for my mum to pay for dance lessons and this why we have always aimed to make Rhinestones affordable and are now taking dance into schools, so that all children have the opportunity to get involved,” explained Nicola. “Through dance we can give children once in a lifetime experiences such as performing on the pitch before a Rhinos game or in a show, but most importantly we can inspire them to take up a hobby and stay fit, by engaging them in a fun and healthy activity.”
If you would like to know more about the dance coaching offer for schools or if you are interested in the Rhinestones Dance Academy contact Nicola.booth@leedsrugby.com