A SUMMER season of free online classes has been provided to more than 100 people of all ages by Dance Woking.

Classes are usually held in schools and other premises with a fee participants, but funding from Arts Council England and Woking Borough Council has meant that they have been run at no charge via Zoom and other platforms.

Tilly Maginnis, the Dance Woking administrator, said the classes have proved popular.

“A lot of teachers have been doing lots of Zoom teaching and so have got used to this way of engaging,” she said. “They have been encouraging the children to take part.”

The classes include ones for toddlers, Mind and Movement for ages 12 to 14, which develops ways to support physical and mental wellbeing and tea dances aimed at the over-50s.

The season is coming to an end, but classes still to be held are: Tuesday Family Bollywood on 25 August at 9.30am; Wednesday Family Toddler Dance on 26 August at 10.30am and Evolve Youth Online Creative Dance on 26 August at 4pm.

Tilly said that, when Dance Woking returns to live classes, it hopes to continue some online instruction. Those taking part in the free summer season were prompted to make a small donation to the programme, so that it can continue later in the year.

“Dance Woking is hoping to start more projects with schools in Woking and other parts of Surrey,” she said.

Tilly added that people have enjoyed the flexibility of the online classes and they have reached participants outside the Woking area.

“My grandma in Worcestershire has been taking part,” she said p7 Dance Woking.jpg.

Tilly is a dance teacher and professional dancer and is working from Ireland, where she is isolating so that she can work on a dance project with a friend.

For more information, visit www.dancewoking.com.