Within weeks of starting the classes, he noticed an immediate change in his health and fitness levels.
Jackson, who weighed 160kg in early 2023, said he had started making an effort to improve his health last year by doing some low-impact physical activity with Think Hauora in Levin.
That helped him get mobile again, he said. Then he started the line dancing classes and noticed they were helping with his weight loss journey.
“That is what drove me to stay with line dancing. I find it to be more enjoyable than going to the gym.”
Jackson has now dropped down to 114kg. Even better, he said, he has gone from having type two diabetes to being considered prediabetic.
Other than the weight loss and health impacts, he said line dancing was a good way to make friends.
“It’s not often you can say you dance with 20 women in the one dance. In line dancing, you can. I’m the luckiest man.”
When his line dancing instructor finished teaching at the end of 2023, Jackson didn’t want the dancing to end, so he started learning how to teach.
“Now I have a few dances under my belt, I’m confident in my steps and confident in calling steps verbally, I think I’m ready to teach. It will be a learning curve for me, but I’ve got mentors locally and around the motu to ask for help or advice.”
When not calling steps at the club, Jackson, who describes himself as “a semi-big Māori fella as your instructor with a hard-case attitude”, is a self-employed butcher processing farm-kill and game meats. He also has his own lifestyle property, which he said keeps him busy as a “general farm hand”. He said juggling line dancing and his butchery work isn’t hard, despite how different the two things are.
“I’ve got a good relationship with my clients, so normally we work things out. With my livestock, as long as they have plenty of feed and plenty of water, I’m a happy chappy.”
Jackson will be offering a couple of different classes, including beginner-level classes where you can learn basic steps and counts, with more newer dances than older ones.
He said he will offer classes for “improvers and intermediates”, which are for people who know all their steps and will feature harder dances.
“Give line dancing a go - you won’t know if you like it or not until you try.”
The Details:
What: Line dancing classes
Where: Levin Cosmopolitan Club, 47-51 Oxford Street South
When: Mondays, starting September 2. Absolute beginners and novices, 1.15pm-3pm; improvers and intermediates, 3.15pm-6pm.
More info: $3 per session, can pay on day, first beginners’ lesson free. People don’t have to be members of the Cosmopolitan Club to attend the classes.
