RIO arrived in Swindon this week with salsa, samba and carnival dance workshops as youngsters got into the swing of the Olympic celebrations.

There was even a touch of Brazilian sunshine outside as around 24 children aged six to ten enjoyed the Go-Rio themed dance masterclasses with a sports twist, which took place from Monday to Wednesday.

At the helm of the lively and action-packed three-day event, organised by Swindon Dance at the former town hall in the town centre, was dance instructor Helen Ganberg who was showing the youngsters the ropes.

There was also an opportunity to get to grips with Capoeira, better known as Brazilian martial arts, which proved to be a huge hit with the children.

“The three-day workshop went really well and was completely sold out,” said Helen.

“The children absolutely loved the Capoeira. We did samba on Tuesday on Wednesday we had the carnival theme.

“We also looked at the opening ceremony and tried to recreate parts of the story going into the rainforest.”

The children were also set creative tasks and had to incorporate sports such as diving, swimming, running and discus to create a dance routine. This saw lots of cartwheels and jumping.

The five Olympic rings were also created using hula hoops and ribbons.

Helen added: “We haven’t run children summer shows for a number of years, so we were really happy to have such a big turnout. I think it was the mixture of dancing with sports which made it so popular.

“They all had smiles on their faces, lots of them made friends and said they had been getting bored in the summer holidays.

“The aim was also to help improve their confidence, which we hopefully did.”