A joint project of Dance Club Danube and the Lyoness Child & Family Foundation

Project description
The Dance Club Danube in Bratislava takes part in the annual Dance World Championship (mixed couples, i.e. each dancing couple consists of a disabled and a non-disabled partner). This year, the Dance Club Danube has the chance of sending couples to two World Championships (Cuijk and Rheinsberg). The Championship is divided into beginners and advanced classes. Taking part in these competitions means high costs for the disabled participants, mainly because of their transport requirements. In order to ensure that those couples can participate under the required conditions, entry fees, accommodation, transport, catering and medical staff (trainers, massage therapists, physiotherapists) have to be provided.

Alternative dance therapy helps disabled people to integrate themselves better into social and professional environments. Important assets like self-assertion and participation experience at their workplaces are thus promoted. Seen from a social point of view, alternative therapy methods have proved to be a real medical rehabilitation. Participants not only make noticeable physical progress, but they experience an improvement of their communicative abilities as well. In that way, self-confidence and self-assurance are additionally boosted. Lyoness Child & Family Foundation is making efforts to stop prejudice against disabled persons and to make them and their problems visible to society. This project demonstrates nicely how the quality of life can be improved for disabled people and how their prospects can be enhanced by implementing an alternative therapy approach and getting real support from the community in which we are all living.

Project title
Disabled dancers compete in this year’s Dance World Championship

Project location
Bratislava – Slovakia

Project time frame 
March 2009 – August 2009

Project objective
Integration of disabled people; promoting their personal progress by applying alternative therapy approaches involving motor and dancing skills (music and art therapies); improving their integration into the community.

Group of beneficiaries
300 dancers including 150 disabled people

Project partner
ARS Integra, Tanz Club Danube, BA

Project plan
March 2009: preliminary arrangements for the World Championship (training, transport, accommodation, etc.)
10th April: Travel to the World Championship in Cuijk
11th – 14th April 2009: Dance World Championship for the Disabled (beginners)
7th May 2009: Travel to World Championship in Rheinsberg
8th – 12th May 2009: Dance World Championship for the Disabled (advanced) 

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