Dancer looks to inspire others at aerial studio

Mel Stevens, aged 40, who lives in Monks Lane, toured the world as a professional dancer with Take That and featured on various TV commercials and prime-time shows including Top of the Pops and Big Breakfast.
However, her life was turned upside down in 2003 when she broke her back giving birth to her third child, which resulted in permanent neurological damage, and caused her spine to age prematurely.
Mrs Stevens said she is now determined to help others with disabilities by opening a new wheelchair-accessible studio, in Greenham Business Park, by Easter.
She said: “Without this project I would run the risk of just going back to bed and withdrawing from life again.
“The thought of going back to where I was terrifies me but the thought of helping just one person truly excites me. I can’t wait to get started.”
Mrs Stevens came up with the idea for the studio after entering into a project for disabled performers in London in June 2012, where she discovered that hanging upside down helped her physical and mental state.
She now ‘hangs’ for at least five minutes a day, six days a week at Spin City in Newbury, something that she says can alleviate the pain in her back for hours afterwards by decompressing her spine.
She said: “The most precious thing is that I do not have to take my medication any more and being able to have conversations with people and a proper relationship with my husband.
“Medication robs you of life, but now I am awake and conscious and able to have social interaction again.”
Mrs Stevens now hopes that she can help others in a similar position – and revealed that 30 people have already expressed an interest in using the studio, which has received donations from Greenham Common Trust and 101 Creation Studios.
She added: “I wanted to create an aerial dance studio that is special for dancers with physical disabilities and inspire them to improve their performance and lives.”
Mrs Stevens is also director at AIM to Fly and runs the website www.achieveinspiremanage.co.uk/ where she encourages people to take control of their own lives.