Aurala celebrates its 85th anniversary and develops dance course offerings to meet students' needs and wishes. Marita Kraama, a dance instructor at Aurala, conducted a survey in the spring of 2024 to support the development work.
Photo: Marita's Tanssiksi dance exercise class. Photographer Hanna Suojanen.
According to the survey, the most popular dance courses were dance exercise, street sports, contemporary dance and adult-child courses. The students primarily wanted to improve strength and fitness, learn dance forms and develop mobility, flexibility, balance and coordination. The students also expected to make new friends and a sense of community from the courses. According to the results of the survey, Aurala's civic college offered in its selection of courses courses that correspond to the needs and wishes of the students, such as Tanssiksi dance exercise, hip-hop gymnastics, Dance eddies course, contemporary dance and adult-child courses.
Dance increases well-being
Dance not only improves fitness and strength, but also develops coordination, balance and flexibility. Dancing reduces stress and improves mood, as the feel-good hormones lower the levels of stress hormones. There are plenty of different dance styles, so it's important to dance the kinds you enjoy. Aurala's civic college aims to reach new students and improve their well-being by offering a diverse range of different dance courses.
The study showed that people with visualization disorders wish for easier dancing. In order to develop the operation of Aurala's civic college, based on a survey, it is proposed to expand the course offering also for people with movement disorders.
Dance brings community and reduces marginalization
Dance is dancing in a group and a great way to meet people. Dancing in a group prevents loneliness. Aurala also has active regional living room activities and an atmospheric lobby for social interaction.
Photo: Dance exercise in Aurala's ballroom. Photo from Aurala's archive.
Recover the knowledge of the dance course with credits
According to the research, students are goal-oriented and goal-oriented, so Aurala already offers almost 60 credit courses this academic year. From the competence goals of the credit course, the student can see what he learns in the course and what he knows after taking it. With credit points, students can verify their skills when looking for a job or include them in their studies. The credit courses arrived at civic colleges in the fall of 2023. If you wish, you can get credit for completing the course in the OmaOpintopolku service or you can take the course as a hobby.
- The survey was carried out in Aurala in the spring of 2024. The aim was to increase the civic college's understanding of the wishes and needs of students aged 30-40 with regard to the hobby of dance and to develop the offer of dance exercise through service design, says Marita Kraama, who has completed her senior MA thesis on the subject.
More information: Auralan Setlementti ry, Satakuntatie 10, 20100 Turku. 050 316 7702. www.aurala.fi
