Lockdown 'hero' award for Sheffield driveway dance teacher

Charlotte Armitage, from Ecclesall, was this week named a Yorkshire Water ‘community hero’ after running daily dance classes for the people in her street throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

The classes proved so popular they regularly got more than 50 people taking part, with residents as young as six months and as old as 93 getting involved.

As well as the award, Charlotte was also given a cash donation by Yorkshire Water which she chose to give to Doncaster Performing Arts.

She said: “At the beginning of the lockdown we set up a What’s App group so we could all help each other out in lockdown and I put a message on it asking if people wanted to do ‘Dancing in Driveways’.

“My work had sort of dried up because of the pandemic but I knew lots of people on the street were on their own and could benefit from fresh air, keeping fit and avoiding isolation.

“It went so well we decided to do it every day and we’ve been doing it now for 15 weeks.”

As well as winning the award from Yorkshire Water, Charlotte has also been featured on BBC Look North, Radio Sheffield, Radio 5Live and in the children’s newspaper First News.

She said that while the pandemic has undoubtedly been a difficult period for many people, it had also brought out the best in human nature.

She said: “This has been an awful time but there has also been so much human spirit around as well. People have been coming together and making their neighbours their families.

“I can’t believe how many people have been doing this with us every day - but being part of something bigger than ourselves has been amazing.”

As the lockdown restrictions are eased, Charlotte says business has picked up again and she is currently taking bookings from care homes for garden-based dance classes.

She can be contacted on email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @CharlieAEDance.

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