Get Active – with belly dancer Karen Hartigan

Just because Get Active Month is finished, doesn’t mean you should stop with the Getting Active, and neither are we! OUr Get Active series was so popular that we thought we’d continue it a little, and chat to belly dancer Karen Hartigan.

Can you tell us a bit about the history of belly dancing?
Bellydancing or Raqs Sharqi originated in the Middle East as a form of dance by women for women. A lot of what we see today, such as glittery costumes baring bellies, is heavily influenced by the Hollywood movies trying to romanticize harem life and is not approved of in Egypt. However, originally it was a form of dance that was passed from mother to daughter, particularly in the nightclubs of Cairo.

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Get Active – Heathly recipes

Today we thought we’d share a few tasy, quick and healthy recipes from two of our interviewees.

First up, a delicious dessert recipe from April Wood

Chia Pudding
1/4c chia seeds (black or white)
1Tbspn honey or maple syrup
1Tbspn raw cacao (available at health food shops and super nutritious)
1c milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or water

Mix it all together and leave it in the fridge over night.
Enjoy!
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And next up are two recipes from our first ever guest blogger, Chris Serong.

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Get Active – with a Giant Theramin

Today we’re looking at something rather surprising but rather fun too. Have you heard of a Theramin? It’s a musical instrument that you don’t touch, pull, poke or shake to play, instead it picks up the movement of your hands as you wave them above it and creates sound from that. You can find out about the usual style of Theramins in the wikipedia article here.

What does this have to do with Get Active month, we hear you ask… Well, Melbourne City Council in association with Vicheath’s MOTION program have commissioned a giant Theramin from artist Robin Fox.

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Get Active – James and the Giant Peach at The Drum

One of the important things about Get Active Month is that the changes people have made during the month shouldn’t just stop once March is over! Really, we all need to remember to Get Active, every day. So today we’re looking to April to see what else we can do to keep active during the rest of the year.

In the second week of the school holidays, on Thursday, April 12, Roald Dahl’s wonderful story James and the Giant Peach comes alive at The Drum Theatre with puppets, music and fun free activites to do both before and after the show. It’s the perfect place to see some magic happen as well as Getting Active and out of the house. Check below for more details!

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Get Active – Dandenong Kids website

So you’re all keen to continue Getting Active this month, but you’ve run out of local ideas as to what to do with the kids. Maybe you need to find out a little more about your local area and what services are offered? Or maybe you’re just looking for some support… Where can you go?

Well, let us introduce you to the Dandenong Kids website, which has been developed by the City of Greater Dandenong Children’s and Families Partnership with the aim of supporting children and families who reside in the City of Greater Dandenong.
The main aims are to:
• Provide information about all services and activities for young children and families in the City of Greater Dandenong;
• Access tips and resources to support children and their families;
• Have a central location for support services to place their organisation’s up to date information for ready access to families and other support services;
• Provide an up to date list of weblinks for families and services to use to gather and source information.
Check them out on www.dandenongkids.com.au or contact Dandenong Kids website administrator – email: cmirat@cgd.vic.gov.au

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Get Active – with Parkour teacher and student Zeke Beilharz

Today, we have another in our series of interesting ways to Get Active and keep fit. We’re pleased to introduce you to Zeke Beilharz, who teaches Parkour and works with the Australian Parkour Association.

Can you define Parkour for us?
Parkour is a method of physical training that develops one’s ability to overcome obstacles (both physical and mental). It involves movement that will help if one is in a reach or escape emergency situation. Underpinning this is a philosophy of altruism and useful strength, longevity, self-improvement and self-understanding.

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Get Active – Happy Harmony Day!

Today is Harmony Day in Australia! Harmony Day is a day when all Australians celebrate our cultural diversity and it gives people the opportunity to celebrate what makes each Australian unique and share what we have in common. The day is also the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The message for Harmony Day in 2012 is that Everyone Belongs, which means all Australians are a welcome part of our country, regardless of their background. It’s a time to reflect on where Australia has come from, recognising the traditional owners of this land. It’s also about community participation, inclusiveness and respect – celebrating the different cultures that make Australia a great place to live.

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Occasional Public Art Tuesday – Urban Artscape by Zabelski Han

Urban Artscape
Zabelski Han
Brady Rd, Dandenong North
2002

The Brady Road area presents itself as a normal suburban neighbourhood. Houses built on suburban blocks and carefully maintained front yards are a key feature of the suburban landscape. The good times that can be had working in the garden, tinkering with the car, going down the street are all part of daily life in North Dandenong.

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Get Active – with martial arts instructor Roz Quin

Welcome to our third week of Get Active month! Gosh, the month is jsut flying past, isn’t it? It’s almost like March is getting Active all by itself… Today we’re talking to Roz Quin, who is both a student and teacher from Firestorm Martial Arts.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a student and instructor with Firestorm Martial Arts. In teaching I mostly deal with Junior classes and the Women’s Assertive Self Protection (W.A.S.P.) workshops that my instructor and I designed for real-world application by women (a lot of styles don’t get that men and women have different bodies and so different pros and cons when it comes to assault).

In junior classes we focus on bully-proofing our kids, teaching them to disengage from a fight safely…along with techniques they could use on more serious assaults and of course a lot of fun stuff.
As for my own training – I’m a 1st degree black belt with a (currently neglected) love of weaponry and grappling. I’m currently studying to be ‘regular’ fitness instructor too. I attend karate classes as well as the boxing fitness classes we run at the dojo – because sometimes you just need to go nuts on a bag, ha ha.

Roz (second from the left) with other competitors from Firestorm Martial Arts

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Get Active – garden photography

After reading all the interviews with various people who Get Active in a variety of interesting ways, we’re all inspired to go out and Get Active too! Some people can go out for a walk or a jog without any specific target in mind. They are happy to meander around and just see what they can see. But some people feel they need a reason to go out for a walk. So today, we’re going to be looking something to do when you go out for a walk.Today, we’re here to talk about nature photography!As our gardens are so beautiful at the moment (who are we kidding, they’re always beautiful!) we thought we’d go for a wander with the camera to get some exercise and end up with some beautiful pictures.

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