The sun shone for the first of a trio of Sunday morning Salsa Fitness sessions at The Bowl, Old Town Gardens on June 6th.  The sessions were organised by Josie Williams of The Commonweal School as part of their community cohesion programme to enable the wider community to try new skills in the performing arts. “We put on many events which we invite the general public to take part in. Commonweal means for the good of the all and that it just what we are trying to achieve with our outreach work. Salsa is a great way to keep fit and the Town Gardens is just a perfect location, she commented.”

Led by Claudia Stroud from Chile, who is one of the school's community partners, she also holds dance sessions at the school on a Tuesday and Thursday evenings, she would like to see a lot of people come a long and try out her Salsa Fitness which is a fun way to keep fit.

Monies from the first session was donated to the Red Cross to help towards their world disaster fund. It was only £44.90, but every little helps,” said Claudia.

Thirteen people attended the first session to energise themselves for the day ahead, 30 attended the last session which was quite a good turn out as it was Father's Day!

“Claudia is a sassy lady and a true motivator,” commented Jayne Skinner from Old Town.

“I regularly attend Claudia’s sessions, but it is nice to do it in the open air. Claudia makes it fun and it wouldn’t be the same with anyone else, or dancing to a DVD. She leads the class at any level that you feel comfortable doing, so if you don’t want to do the fancy hand moves that doesn’t matter, you are encouraged to do what you can within your capability, she breeds inclusiveness,” Sue Mansfield from Old Town.

The Salsa Fitness sessions at the Town Gardens Bowl were staged on 6th, 13th & 20th June from 10 – 11am, and was weather dependent. They cost £3 for adults and children were free. There was no need to book, people simply turned up on the day, wore comfortable clothes and brought a bottle of water with them. Many thanks to the borough's Parks Department for giving the community the opportunity to use The Bowl,"she added.

The Bowl has recently had new railing erected around the site which means that the Bowl is more accessible for people to use. “Before this we had huge metal cage doors protecting the stage area, but it would mean two strong men were needed to remove them. The metal cage has gone, but we have to keep the main gates locked at present to help prevent the risk of vandalism to the stage area. We would like more people to use the venue. It is a wonderful place for small community events and in the past we have had fetes. We would welcome Saturday or Sunday afternoon events so long as they are not too loud and also fund raising garden parties or things like Tai Chi, “ said Emma Burton, Parks Officer. If you would like further info on using the Bowl please tel the Parks Dept on 01793 445500.