Posted in Dance, Lifestyle, Vicky's Tips

‘How can dancing improve office teamwork and productivity’ – Vicky Andreanska

“A happy employee is more productive, more energetic and more creative – hence the importance of creating a happy environment within every institution.” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

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Dancing is a powerful tool for building up confidence in your employees. It boosts up motivation and fitness levels which increases their productivity and it also teaches your employees how to improve their body language in a work environment.

There is no better way of getting all the members of your team working together, having some fun and interacting with each other in a way that would normally never happen in the office.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. – Maya Angelou

A short dance class once or twice a week will offer employees the option to have fun while mastering something new during the work week. It can be a very nice break for them as well as an opportunity to get the exercise boost they might need in the office. It’s been scientifically proven if we feel good physically, we can perform better intellectually and emotionally.

Here are the most beneficial areas, a dance class can have in work environment:

1. TEAM BUILDING

Dance Class is a great way of getting your employees to work together while developing communication skills and getting to know each other better in a fun and entertaining way. It is what team building through dancing is all about.

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2. HEALTH & FITNESS

Lots of employees spend hours sitting at their desks looking at computer screens and a lot of them even at their lunch breaks. Your health is at risk if you spend too much time sitting down with limited movement throughout the day.

Encouraging fitness activities in the workplace can be very beneficial not just for employees but for employers as well. Dance brings out more positive attitudes when at work, employees are less stressed and most importantly fit employees are much less likely to get sick which will result in much less absentees.

3. ENERGY BOOST

The endorphins released during dancing mean that employees have more energy and a more positive attitude at work. We know that sitting in one place for too long and looking into a screen causes energy levels to drop. A little dance can be a nice refresher and give your employees the energy boost without feeling too tired afterwards.

People Dancing at a Discotheque

4. CONFIDENCE BOOST

Dancing is a major self-confidence boost. As you dance you learn how to be aware of your body movement. It improves the way you carry yourself in team meetings or during presentations which could be a crucial ingredient for workplace success.

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5. IMPROVES CREATIVITY

“If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play”. – John Cleese

Exposing your workers to a creative task that might be outside their comfort zone, such as dance will challenge their minds and also give them an opportunity to explore something completely new.

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5. BRINGS FUN AND APPRECIATION

Young happy couple dancing at home and laughing.

Bringing fun activities into the work place shows your employees and colleagues that their health and wellbeing is important to you. Employees are happier and more alert which results in them being more productive. Giving your employees an opportunity to learn a new skill like dancing could be a special and lovely way of saying “Thank you for your hard work” and the bonus is: IT’S FUN!

Whether you decide to bring some ballroom dancing classes or fun modern dance classes into your workplace – you can never go wrong. On top of all that you might get to show off your team’s new moves at the next party or even in a short video.

In the past I have been asked to teach one of the businesses in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow a simple dance routine. All members of the team gathered in the main room twice a week for 45 minutes of dancing, to learn and practice a dance routine to the song of their choice. It was something new for every one of them. It was challenging, a lot of fun, very uplifting and it brought a lot of entertainment and smiles to their work day. After four weeks of dancing they did a fun video shoot to showcase their daily office tasks and how the company works on day to day basis mixed with the actual dance they have learned. In their case they used the video as part of their customer facing content providing visitors with an idea of who they are as well as the service they provided. It’s a clever and very unique way to showcase your company culture or even a product offering.

You can check out the video we did with this company below:

They brought dancing into their workplace and THEY LOVED IT!

Are you interested in seeing how dance can help your company?

For more information do not hesitate to contact us here:

www.dancegreystones.ie or www.facebook.com/zumbaanddancewithvicky

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZqKVyPLUXsGWt-XJ5FxJlg?view_as=subscriber

Dance classes, choreography, video production & final edit are all provided in the package.

Vicky x

Posted in Dance, Dance Fam Stories: Through the eyes of a Student

‘Dance Fam Stories: Through the Eyes of a Student – Christmas Special with Dee Donohoe’

I’m absolutely delighted to share Dee’s dance journey with you all.

Dee is a very special student and friend of mine. She has been my student from day one, dancing with me since my very first Zumba® class in Shoreline Greystones back in June 2011. She was always there, every single class – front and centre with a big smile on her face. Even when I moved my classes to different locations a few years later, she followed me and kept dancing. We soon became great friends and I was delighted to have Dee also joining Strictly Come Dancing Fundraiser in aid of The Gavin Glynn Foundation in 2016 which I was choreographing. Soon after when I started ‘Dance Greystones’ Dee was the first one to sign up. Her dedication, friendship and support is something I really treasure and I can’t wait for you to read all about her dance journey where she shares what dancing and everything that comes with it means to her.

When did your dance journey first start?

I started dancing when I was about five years old – Irish Dancing in school.

Then when I was about 10 years old I took up ballet, loved it but had to stop in my teens due to a bad knee injury, not to mention the pressure of school exams.

That was pretty much the last dancing I did, apart from the usual clubbing, until one day a friend of mine asked me had I tried Zumba®. I hadn’t, so she brought me along.

Do you remember your very first Zumba® class? What was it like?

I do. I remember I thought this is the exercise for me. At last I’ve found ‘my thing’. I was attending a morning class then added in an evening class (I couldn’t get enough of it) which turned out to be Vicky’s first Zumba® class in the local sports centre. OMG it was packed out! The lights were turned down, the music was loud and I was having a ball. It felt like a party, not just a great workout.

And so it continued. I was 100% hooked on dance. I was doing something I love, getting really fit, toning, having a full body workout while having the best of fun. Amazing!

As time went on, Vicky branched out on her own, running her Zumba® classes and also running and choreographing Strictly Come Dancing charity events. I thought I could so do that! I signed up for an event. It felt so scary! But so exhilarating! Raising all that money for a worthy cause, meeting amazing people, and having the time of my life, all simultaneously – what’s not to love?

You became part of Dance Greystones since the very start. What does Dance Greystones mean to you and what made you stick with it? 

Eventually, organically, Dance Greystones grew out of an adult dance class which is more than a Zumba® class. And where was I? Front and centre of course! Lapping up every new step, loving every minute of it, meeting like minded people from all walks of life, who have become some of my best friends. In fact, we are a bunch of people who have become like a family to each other. We call ourselves the ‘Dance Fam’.

What do you think is the best part of the term for you?

We learn a new choreography to a different song every four weeks or so and at the end of the term we shoot a video. At first I was so nervous about dancing and acting in front of the camera, appearing on YouTube for posterity, but once we had done a few videos, the shoots became such an important part of what we do. We love showcasing our progress and it is so good to have something to look back on and remember all the fun times.

It makes me very proud, when I look back at our videos, to see how far we have come and how much we have improved. We all, each one of us, stepped out of our comfort zones, and are having the time of our lives.

“Every dance you make belongs to you. It is part of your collection. When you think of it like that, you’ll want to make your next routine the best you’ve ever made!” – Torron-Lee Dewar

What is your favourite dance/ video up to date?

One of my favourite dances and shoots is ‘The Mask’. The choreography was amazing, the videography was very cool, we all had such fun, but mostly I had the opportunity to dance alongside my daughter who starred as ‘The Mask’, disguised in green face paint. It was actually quite an emotional experience. I would have to say that this is a very special memory for me, and it would never have happened without the medium of dance.

Another favourite one is ‘Great Gatsby’ as it played to my love of all things 1920s, from the music to the costumes to learning proper Charleston steps.

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How does dancing in general make you feel?

I feel that dance is a hobby that I found, which has enhanced my life, opened up new opportunities, introduced me to some amazing friends. I am very lucky to have the health and fitness to be able to do it, and I hope to never stop. In fact, I have recently taken up Ballroom and Latin dance classes, and am absolutely loving it.

When you find ‘your thing’, be sure to pursue it, you never know where it might take you. I am so glad that my friend said to me that day, a few years ago: “have you ever tried Zumba®?”…I did and I have never looked back.

It is never too late, Dance is for everyone, irrespective of age or fitness. It’s never too late.

Love,

Dee x

Posted in Lifestyle, My story, Vicky's Tips

‘My story – Exercise and me’

Most of you reading this post probably know me as this active, non stop moving, energetic girl, who loves exercise and working out. And you are right, I do love exercise and being active since forever. If I go by what my mom tells me then its since before I was even born.
But it certainly doesn’t mean it’s been like that all the time.
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I went through periods of my life when I felt differently about it. I went through the times when I struggled and exercised for wrong reasons. I didn’t enjoy it at all and viewed it as something I had to do, not something I wanted or enjoyed to do at the time.
Everyone is different and everyone deals with their feelings, emotions, whether they’re good or bad their own way. For so many people exercise is something that helps them to get through the hard times, to help them stay focused or away from anxiety or just to get out and for an hour and forget about whatever they are dealing with in their life.
For others, exercise is a part of the day, part of their lifestyle and they can’t even imagine a day going without it because it makes them feel good.
Everyone is different and everyone should always do what makes them feel good – there is so many ways of exercising and what makes one person feel good doesn’t necessarily mean it’s what you will enjoy too.
What is a really strange feeling for me is that only now (while I’m typing this and thinking about it), Im realising when I was a teenager and pretty much up until about 4 years ago, any activities and exercise I used to do in my free time I did simply for the fact that I enjoyed them. I used to workout and move because i wanted to, because i enjoyed it and it made me feel good. It was never a case that I felt I had to do it in order to look “perfect”.
And if you’re thinking “Yea, it’s because you didn’t have to worry about your weight as you were never overweight”, you are right. I wasn’t. But neither am I now.
So why did I start feeling differently about it then? Why did I start feeling I had to go to the gym so I can get in shape, get skinnier or more toned? Why was I happy in my body before and not so much now? When did it change?
When I was pregnant I put on a lot of weight (26kg to be exact, which is a lot) and I didn’t really mind, I was pregnant so I felt ok about it. Then I had my beautiful little boy and I couldn’t be any happier. It didn’t really bother me that I wasn’t straight back in the shape, I genuinely didn’t care because I was enjoying the mommy-hood and didn’t think much about it. I have lost quite a lot of weight but I didn’t go straight back to what I used to be. And I couldn’t help but started to feel this weird pressure which is quite hard to explain. I felt like because of my fitness background, people where almost expecting me to get straight into shape, get ‘my body’ back straight away.
I could have been completely wrong but I subconsciously felt this pressure and only one small comment like “When are you gonna start working out?” or that one ‘look’ could easily make me feel like it’s a hint. So after a few weeks I have decided it was time to get back to the gym and work on my body.
Did I enjoy it? NO. Why didn’t I enjoy it like I used to?
To be honest with you, I was quite happy in my post-baby body. I wasn’t unhealthy, I was still active – walking hours and hours a day with Nico in the buggy, eating healthy food and I was happy. But with those little hints I was getting here and there (which I now believe I sometimes made in my own head myself) and the expectations I felt like I had to meet, even though I didn’t feel like hitting the gym at the time, I decided to just do it. I worked out because I thought people didn’t like the way my body looked and I started to believe it. I stopped liking my body and i was insecure about it. And I stopped enjoying the gym workout. In fact every time I went was a torture.
After a few months I was choreographing and organising a Strictly Come Dancing Fundraiser which took all my free time, so I didn’t get a chance to go to the gym.
That time I have finally decided to stop. Stop chasing this “perfect” body. I was just exhausted and tired of it – emotionally and physically too.
I decided I’m going to enjoy this experience of ‘Strictly’. I was having a great time choreographing, dancing and socialising, while I was eating good food and living a healthy lifestyle. I stopped focusing on the results, stopped stressing about it and simply
enjoyed the process.
And guess what happened?
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By the end of this experience I felt amazing. ‘Strictly’ helped me to forget about the pressure and just enjoy what I like to do. It didn’t just help my body but also my mind.
And to be honest I think I was possibly in the best shape I’ve ever been (pic with Nico).
When I stopped viewing the exercise as this horrible thing I had to do in order to get back into shape and started seeing it as a positive part of my lifestyle to move my body and stay healthy and even away from my anxiety, it all changed.
It was probably the best I’ve felt about myself (confidence-wise) since college.
Blake Lively once said: “The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence”.
And it is so true. There is nothing more attractive then confidence. It doesn’t really matter if you’re in a perfect shape really, once you feel good about yourself it shines through you.
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When you’ll look back at your life, will you wish you had a stricter diet or exercise regime or that you lived your life more? I’m sure nobody is going to say the first option.
But I know it’s so hard to think that way at times as today’s world is constantly promoting something else. And I know how easy it is to feel pressured these days (thanks to social media, photoshop, expectations, comparing and society in general).
I know it because up until few months ago I still used to catch myself wishing my body would look different – better. Telling myself i need to work harder to get to whatever image I created in my head for myself.
But why?
The difference between my body before i was pregnant (when i was perfectly confident and happy with my body) and now isn’t that big, at times when I’m being good and I workout as much as I’d like to, it’s literally minimal if any, so why do I care much more about it now? I’m older, surely i should be more confident knowing my body haven’t really changed? But somehow its the other way.
Somehow i feel judged, compared and not necessarily by others, sometimes by me.
Why do i do it to myself?
I’m not gonna give you the answer to this because i’m not entirely sure why and I’m not the expert, but i’m finally aware of how silly it is and for the past few months I’m trying to look at it differently.
I don’t want to sound preachy about self confidence and self love, as I’m definitely not 100% there yet, but I think I’m definitely getting closer to where I want to be. I feel quite confident and secure and even though at times I feel ‘out of shape’ – because life happens and sometimes I’m too busy, or too lazy, or caught up in a great tv series which is ok too, I also know I will always get back to it.
Exercise should be a part of everyone’s life cause it’s extremely important for not just your physical but also mental health. A lot of times for me personally working out helps me to stay away from anxiety and it also makes me feel good about myself.
I just think we shouldn’t spend hours running on treadmill if we don’t enjoy it, or count calories if it makes us stressed, but we should try doing workouts we truly enjoy and that make us feel good. These days the options are endless.
I know a few months ago I wouldn’t have shared these pictures publicly, as Im clearly not in the ‘best’ shape and you can see my rolls (it’s all about the angle), but I’m ok with it. I guess I’ve slowly learned I don’t always need to have a six-pack to like my body and because the last few months were a bit stressful, I didn’t get to workout as much as I would like to or as I should. But it’s ok. I’m just gonna ‘roll with it’ 🙂
I’m now finally starting to have more time for myself and I can’t wait to get back to the gym and dance more. And I’m also very excited about the winter season as I always go snowboarding, which for me is always super fun. I love to just grab the gear and hit the mountain and enjoy it to the fullest. And the bonus is – it’s also a full body workout.
So what is the moral of this story?
Eat good food, live healthy lifestyle and move for pleasure, not as a chore.
Find a workout that makes you feel good (whether it is gym workout, jogging, dancing, crossfit, boxing, yoga or walking your dog), a workout that you enjoy because only that way you will stick to it. Try and don’t beat yourself, it always takes time to see changes, just be persistent and patient.
And most importantly –
WORKOUT BECAUSE YOU LOVE YOUR BODY AND NOT BECAUSE YOU HATE IT ❤️
“Beauty has so many forms, and I think the most beautiful thing is confidence and loving yourself”. – Kiesza
Hope it helps anyone who do struggle xxx
Vicky x