Inspired by our Ellie Simmonds on Strictly? Then keep dancing!
You may have seen our fantastic Scouts ambassador, Ellie Simmonds, strutting her stuff on Saturday nights in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing ballroom.
Ellie’s been amazing so far, making the Cha, Cha, Cha and Waltz look effortless and scoring some brilliant points in both.
We're so proud of you, Ellie!
If you’ve been inspired by Ellie Simmonds on Strictly, you might want to hold your own Scouts dancing session or fundraising dance-a-thon. You could even make your own playlist and take requests beforehand.
Warming up
Now, are you ready to dance? It’s good to get limbering up and stretching before you begin in.
You can have a dancing themed warm up by adapting our game, Copycat. Make all the actions be dance moves and try to spot who’s in charge of the group's actions.
If you’re looking for another warm up or a fun game to dance to, why not try our version of Musical chairs, Muscle shuffle, or get moving in Musical statues?
When you’re all ready and warmed up, you can begin. There’s lots of ways you can get everyone dancing!
Strictly inspired dancing
Has anyone got any moves to show off? Create a dance circle and see if you can remember your favourite dances, then put them together In the groove. You might want to do this in smaller groups and then perform for each other.
Have you heard of the Samba? You may have seen it on Strictly. Brazil’s where the Samba comes from. You could join in and dance at your own Carnival by making your own maracas or even make some colourful headbands.
Have you noticed how all the different dances have their own styles, moves and music? Do you have a favourite one? Explore them in Daily dance.
You could also become a Super shaker, music maker. Make your own musical instrument, get out your dancing shoes and use your imagination to create your own dance move.
Stepping away from the ballroom
Looking for something a little more unusual and away from the Strictly ballroom? Why not try Dancing in the dark? Find some LED wristbands or use torches to bust out your moves.
Take on a ceilidh and bust a move to this traditional groove from Scotland by learning to Strip the Willow.
Once warmed up and ready to take on a challenge, you could even try Stave dancing. A stave is a long pole, and you’ve got to make sure it doesn’t drop!
Getting everyone involved
Does anyone in your group, volunteers, young leaders or parents and carers know how to dance? Would they be able to teach some toe-tingling tap, super street dance or the basics of ballet? Ask them to put on some small workshops in skills superstars.
If you’re wondering how to share your new dancing skills with your local community, put on your own Gang Show. You could even make it into your own mini-Strictly, and choose people to be judges and presenters.
Been inspired?
Has Ellie Simmonds inspired you to put on your dancing shoes? It might be a good opportunity to take some time to see how disability is presented on screen.
Dive into some research, then add a new disabled character to your favourite TV show in What’s on your TV?
You might also be inspired by Ellie’s Paralympic victories. Why not try earning your Swimmer Staged Activity Badge, too?