“Danza Kuduro” against seniors isolation in Nice

The contagious reggaeton by Don Omar and Lucenzo is gaining new audience

Good food, mental stimulation and physical activity – these are arguably the most important factors for staying healthy at all ages. For senior citizens, however, the past year has been extremely challenging, as they were mostly forced to stay at home, deprived of social contact, due to the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.

In this context, the Seniors Service of Nice has been going to great lengths to ensure that the needs of its elderly population are met. They have been organising various online activities and challenges, in order to maintain the sense of social bond among the elderly.

Their latest call to local seniors is to learn how to dance and in particular – to the beats of the 2010 hit Danza Kuduro. At least when it comes to music, being contagious is a good thing.

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One-third of the population of Nice is above 60 years old and a significant part of it are living alone. During the healthcare crisis, it has become even more important to keep these people engaged socially, states the city website.

That is why the Mayor Christian Estrosi and Deputy-Mayor for seniors Françoise Monier have urged city services to mobilise against social isolation more than ever and ensure that older citizens can remain active without risking their health. Respectively, the city service in charge of seniors’ welfare has been offering a varied video programme suitable to all tastes: sports and dance exercises, cooking lessons, virtual tours, concerts, among others.

This month, they have opted for a dancing challenge, betting on one of the top tunes of the past decade - Danza Kuduro. The hit by reggaeton singer Don Omar featuring Portuguese-French artist and producer Lucenzo, released in 2010, is now set for a comeback, even if only among seniors living on the French Riviera.

Thus, the challenge offered by city authorities is structured as follows: a dance teacher offers a choreography with three levels of difficulty. He then gives free video lessons on Zoom for each level once a week, from 15 April to 3 June 2021.

Elder residents of Nice are invited to rise to the challenge by registering with the city office for seniors. At the end of the course, they can record themselves performing the choreography, send the video to the social service and have it shared on their Facebook profile to be seen by other Nice residents on the web.