By Rhiannon Muise

Megan Doak Belfast dance teacher is setting out to help women embrace their femininity through dance which developed from Latin American ballroom.

The style of dance is performed using a heeled shoe and has become a popular way for people to improve their fitness and has been adapted to be used in other styles of dance. Heels choreography has been performed in the popular musical Caberat, and other well-known pop artists have modernised the style.

Doak’s aim is to encourage women to feel body positive and boost their confidence. The heels class is called High on Heels and has run since January 2021. The community has progressed to its own dance studio called Luna Studios nestled at the end of ParkmountStreet.

With a growing community of dancers being predominantly female, Doak explained why she wanted to start the group,

“I’ve always been a confident woman; I’ve always been independent. I just felt like there was a gap missing in the market just promoting women’s sexuality and sensuality.

“Just getting women to feel confident and loving their bodies. I just thought no better way than through sexy heels dancing.”

In Northern Ireland and around the United Kingdom many people struggle with their mental health. According to the charity called Women’s Maternal Mental Health Alliance they collected data that showedup to 70 percent of women will play down how they’re internally feeling.

Rachel Burns a mother and one of the attendees of the class said: “I had gone through a lot of years in life not embracing my femineity or sexuality or anything like that.

“Now my daughter is seven, so coming out of that early stage of motherhood helped me get into more of a sexy stage of my life again.”

Doak explained how the class helped her own wellbeing “I have ADHD and Aspergers, so I have a lot of hidden disabilities and from a young age my mummy put me into dance classes.

“It was the only thing I could concentrate on because I had such a strong love and passion for dance.

“There are so many hidden things in people that you wouldn’t even realise and it’s exploring something new and a really encouraging community can change the person who you are.”

For more information follow the heels community on social media @highonheels. For professional guidance on women’s health visit the NHS website Women’s health – NHS.