Walk Texas

Walk Texas – begin your 10-Week Challenge with a dance!

Walk Texas and Ballet Austin’s Butler Community School are teaming up to get people moving! The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department’s popular fitness program Walk Texas will kick off the next 10-Week Challenge, beginning on July 19th, at Ballet Austin’s Butler Dance Education Center and Community School in downtown Austin!
Ballet Austin is generously hosting the site for the next Walk Texas 10-Week Challenge orientation kick-off, and will provide a free dance class immediately following, for volunteer “Group Leaders” at the beautiful Butler Dance Education Center and Community School, located at 501 West 3rd Street. First, attendees will go to the Walk Texas orientation training in the AdlerLand Studio from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM. Immediately following, volunteer “Group Leaders” and those interested in becoming Group Leaders are invited to attend a free “Broadway Fit” dance class led by instructors Rocker Verastique and Danny Herman. Neighborhood eatery Froots will offer free, healthy smoothies while supplies last.
In addition, Ballet Austin is sponsoring 4-Class Dance Passes for Walk Texas Group Leaders again. Group Leaders will also get a significant discount on an optional 10-week dance class for the run of the challenge for $99, a $31 savings, plus a free four class dance/fitness class card, a $60 value, for a total of $91 of discount. Classes to choose from include hip-hop, jazz, tap, modern, Broadway Fit, Ballet Fit, yoga, and more! "This partnership supports our vision of democratizing dance, breaking down key barriers to accessibility, including finances, physical challenges, cultural context and geography" says Cookie Ruiz, Executive Director of the Ballet.

According to Sabrina McCarty, public health educator and coordinator for the 10-Week Challenge, “This will be fun! We are really excited to partner with Ballet Austin, and appreciate the magnificent gift they are providing for Walk Texas Group Leaders, in which they can try out new dance classes. There are so many ways to increase our levels of physical activity, and dancing is such a fun example!”
The “10-Week Challenge,” a free program that is offered four times each year, encourages everyone to become more physically active. The program is fun, free, and flexible enough to fit anyone’s schedule! Anyone who lives or works in Austin or Travis County is eligible to participate. You can start a bike club, swim club, skate club, dance club, or walk club through the Walk Texas 10-Week Challenge. It’s not just for walkers.
The goal of the 10-Week Challenge participants is to have at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day for adults, 60 minutes a day for children, most days of the week for the 10 weeks of the program. The 30-minute or 60-minute duration per day can be done all at once or taken in 10 to 15-minute intervals. Physical activity can be any moderate exercise such as walking, swimming, cycling, gardening, dancing, stretching, yoga or any activity the participants enjoy. With an incentives plan, group leader training and a tracking system, the program is structured to provide a new challenge during the 10-week period. Groups have total flexibility to choose when, what, and where they will be active. After participating in the 10-Week Challenge, participants should continue their new healthy habit of being physically active for life.

For more information, contact Sabrina McCarty at 972-5463, or email sabrina.mccarty@ci.austin.tx.us.