Dance, Health & Fitness Specialists for People with Sight Loss

The top of the page shows the Illuminate freedom logo – purple and blue writing with a man in a chair with a cane exercising and a woman standing and spreading her arms to the side with wide fingers

Illuminate Freedom create exciting and inspiring programmes of dance and fitness and run social events for people who are blind and partially sighted.

We aim to empower our participants both on a physical and on an emotional level, to

participate in activity, increase their body awareness and confidence, and to feel fantastic

in their own skin.

What Do We Do?

We run a number of classes and services for people with sight loss:

• Dance – Group & One to One Classes• Personal Training & Group Fitness

• A Gym Buddy Service • Weight Loss Programmes• Nutritional Therapy• Massage & Yoga

We also organise monthly “Freedom Events” and provide consultancy on dance movement for organisations

How Do We Do It?

All of our classes use clear and exciting language, instruction and pacing that enables them to be fully inclusive of each participant, no one is ever left behind.

We understand many of the processes, issues, thoughts and emotions that come with having sight loss.

We also understand the fear that can often be attached to doing exercise, physical activity, dancing and even socialising.

Our Dance Classes

Blind Street DanceCommercial Street Dance is a funky and

exhilarating dance movement style that allows you to throw caution to the wind and just move!

In this class you learn a range of new routines, develop your own movement style, coordination

and freedom of expression and have bucket loads of fun!

Blind Street Dance

Image of Louise teaching 12 blind men and women – they smile as they learn the dance routine and shake their hips!

DITCH THE WORKOUT - JOIN THE PARTY™

New for 2016!ZUMBA® Fitness is a fun, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health.

One-to-One or Two-to-One Dance Classes

Just you or you and a friend:• Move at your own pace• Take time to build your confidence• Ask as many questions as you want• In a location of your choice

Image of Louise working one to one with Maria Oshodi, they are facing each other and Louise is holding Maria’s hands to demonstrate the feel of street dance move “the wave”.

Personal Training

Why book a Personal Training Session?

Whether your desire is to lose weight, feel fitter and healthier or avoid niggling injuries or poor

posture when you train, we can help you to achieve your goals in fun, motivational and

inspiring workout sessions.

Home Comfort

We also offers one to one private support and attention in the comfort of your own home.

We have the necessary expertise and equipment to bring to you a personalised, unique and uplifting session, without you even stepping foot out of your front door. This can allow you to can gain confidence at your own pace, or free up your travel time to use for other things.

Gym Buddies

Our Gym Buddies semi-assist your gym workout. We can help with operating machinery, locating

gym equipment and any other reasonable assistance that you require, leaving you to

independently enjoy your workout, stress-free.

We can arrange our attendance at most London-based gyms.

Weight Loss Programmes

If you want to lose weight, we can help you with a structured dietary plan to improve your eating

habits and a high cardio workout to help burn off those pounds.

Hate the gym? We also use Dance Fitness!

Massage Therapy

Whether you have sore muscles, niggling pains or just want some relaxation time, we offer a range of massage therapies.

Nutritional Therapy

Nutritional Therapy can be helpful in counteracting stress, ridding the body of toxins, and restoring nutrients which have been malabsorbed or robbed from the body.

Simple approaches may include the use of vitamin and mineral supplements to combat stress, replace deficiencies, and support the immune system.

Our classes and sessions help people to:

• Improve Physical and Spatial Awareness• Receive Postural Assessment and Corrective Exercise• Move Taller with More Confidence• Increase Strength, Stamina and Endurance for Daily Life• Feel Fitter, Stronger and Healthier• Learn more about Eating Healthy and Healing Foods• Have Fun and Meet New Friends• Feel More Confident and Look Great on the Dance Floor• Most Importantly for Us - Feel Physically Empowered

Freedom EventsEncouraging you to leave the snugly comfort of home, we

bring you:

Illuminate Freedom’s monthly 'Freedom Events'

Venture out with us to enjoy socialising, music, activities and dancing.

We'll arrange meeting up and returning to transport links and do our best to ensure everything is, as it needs to be, leaving

you to just have a great time and socialise, worry-free.

Past Freedom EventsThe Silver Bullet, Finsbury ParkBuffet, great music and lots of dancing

Grand Union Bar, BrixtonA quirky venue with outdoor heated huts, great food and cocktails followed by an evening of dancing

The Forge, CamdenA Cuban Salsa Jam! South American Food, wonderful friendly and helpful staff, live Cuban music and salsa dancing

Contemporary Dance Performance by State of Emergency, DeptfordA great show with excellent and inspiring audio description and the best Touch Tour some had ever seen

Soul Night, Wimbledon ParkAn evening of wonderful and inspiring live performances featuring myself and a number of my VI friends. The evening was accompanied by a delicious, all you can eat buffet of the finest Caribbean cuisine.

Britain’s Got Talent!

We started November with a bang: we auditioned for Britain's Got Talent!

A crew of us from Illuminate Freedom's Blind Street Dance class, AKA the “Blind Beats” went along to the big walk-in audition that took place on Sunday 7th November at Excel, London.

Unfortunately we won’t know the outcome until January 2016 (argh!!), but we’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed!

Success Stories• “Another excellent fitness session with Louise! So great to have a

way of making my body even better and fitter! Thank you very much! It's so great to have find someone out there who knows how to explain things! If you're blind and want to exercise and help feel better contact Louise! She's very amazing!” Vanja Sudar

• “The instructions in class are so clear and precise. You never feel like you’re doing anything wrong.”

Mickel Smithen

About Louise Dickson

Illuminate Freedom was founded by Louise Dickson, a Professional Dancer, Dance Health and Exercise Specialist, Personal Trainer and sports coach with a B.A.

(Hons) in Dance. Louise has lived with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and arthritis since she was just 18 years old. Self-designed Dance Movement

sessions and a complete change in her diet and lifestyle dramatically improved her physical and emotional symptoms, and made her able to eventually get off of

all medications. Louise’s mother also suffers from Fibromyalgia and she also began losing her sight eleven years ago. Since doing dance and fitness activities

with her daughter, she feels that she has been given a “new lease of life”.

Funding and Financial Support

Illuminate Freedom are not currently in receipt of any funding to provide our much needed services and we are looking for some support with studio hire for our new term in January.

If you would like to support us financially, please visit our Go Fund Me page at: www.gofundme/illuminatefreedom

If you can support our valuable work in any other way, please feel free to get in touch:louise@illuminatefreedom.co.uk

Illuminate Freedom:Brightening life’s journey through the freedom of movement