Ocean Village catches dance fever

**Ally** · 10-30-2007, 08:53 AM

With dance fever once again sweeping Britain following the return to TV of a fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing, where celebrity contestants are paired up with professional dancers before performing in front of a live studio audience fighting to keep their place in the competition, Ocean Village, has introduced a series of dance initiatives on board its two ships.

Freestyle Dance Nights are being trialled onboard Ocean Village’s transatlantic crossings and if they prove to be successful, the company will look to make them a permanent feature on board. The evenings take place in the ship’s nightclub Bayside, and include a live band with trained dance instructors offering practical advice.

Zumba is a new Latin inspired fitness regime which uses a combination of a six easy Latin dance steps based on salsa, samba and merengue moves. Zumba has already taken America by storm and, according to new research commissioned by Ocean Village, it should do the same in the UK:

1 in 4 Brits would like to learn a few easy Latin dance steps to help them look better on the dance floor; 1 in 5 Brits would prefer to learn modern Latin dances rather than old fashioned ballroom dances; 62% of women would rather lose weight by learning to dance than by joining a gym.

Says Nick Lighton, md, Ocean Village, ‘Shows like Strictly Come Dancing have a massive effect on the take up of dance classes on board our ships.'

To help passengers looking to dance their way fit, Ocean Village has created an online Latin dance calorie counter at Ocean Village Holidays - Official Website - Homepage - Caribbean and Mediterranean cruise holidays Visitors to the site can check out which Latin dances are the most energetic and burn the most calories.

(ST)