Jonathan’s Story

Jonathan Rodman is from Chorley. His parents had looked for dance classes for him for many years and had never found anything suitable until they discovered DanceSyndrome. Jonathan has Down’s syndrome and before he started his first dance workshop the staff who supported him were worried that he would just want to do his own thing and not follow the Dance Leaders. At the first session, Jonathan arrived and recognised Jen from school. Jonathan identified with Jen and relaxed. He surprised everyone by following the dance routines and learning the steps really quickly

Jonathan’s confidence grew so much that he often helped to lead the dancing along with Dance Leader Jen and Dance Artist Donna. He enjoyed leading the group so much that he decided to enrol on DanceSyndrome’s Dance By Example training course, to learn how to co-deliver community dance workshops. He now co-leads our popular Hindley session with Donna every week, inspiring others to become leaders too!

When Jonathan joined DanceSyndrome his Support Worker said “ I have been a Support Worker for over 20 years and it’s the best activity I have ever seen. It’s exercise, but it’s also a lot of fun. I love watching everyone having fun, some take longer to learn routines but that is what is so good, there is no pressure on anyone and we all have fun learning.”

DanceSyndrome has enabled Jonathan to make friends, have fun and get some exercise. Training as a Dance Leader and performing at high profile events like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has made him feel important, his confidence has grown and he is now following his dream.