Steven Jones, Ceredigion County Council’s Active Communities Officer, saw the system being operated at Leisure Industry Week and saw its potential in engaging with the local community. “Our role, in conjunction with Youth Services, is to get more people active in the community. Dance has become more fashionable in recent years and is high on the sporting agenda so we wanted to take advantage of this and highlight to our youngsters that exercise can be fun. When we saw Pulse’s Dance Machine in action we knew it was a good, well thought out product and we haven’t been disappointed,” comments Jones.

Initially aimed at teenagers, the Dance Machine has proved so successful it has been used in GP referrals of older people as a way of gently increasing sporting activity. Primary schools are also included in the outreach work with free slots offered to promote the fun that can be experienced during exercise.

Jones says: “The versatility of the Dance Machine has been proven with its attraction to all ages. For the younger boys, we focussed on engaging them through competition whilst the girls enjoyed simply having a dance! And this enjoyment can be seen right across the generations with the adults who we’ve welcomed onto Dance Machine.”

After receiving grant aid from The Sports Council of Wales. Ceredigion Actif, Ceredigion County Council’s sport development service decided on the Dance Machine in order to help achieve their goal to get more people, more active, more often.

And after taking the Dance Machine into the community, its success speaks for itself, as Jones comments: “Our community work has proved so successful we have now purchased another for Aberaeron Leisure Centre. Exercise is rarely perceived to be fun, but dancing has proven it can be. If you’re having fun whilst being active then you’re more likely to do it more often and the Dance Machine offers this. We’re delighted with it, as are our clients!”

Dance Machine is the latest interactive product from Pulse offering a dance mat system with the very latest in iDance software.  Based on the revolutionary arcade game, the multiplayer dance mat system enables between 4 and 32 users to actively compete against each other at the same time. Ideal for children aged 8 to 15 years, but with a fun appeal to all ages and abilities, this exciting new product is designed to improve fitness, whilst offering a gaming experience with the latest hi-tech sound and visual equipment.

19th October 2009