Singapore Heart Foundation Launches New Dance Routine to Encourage Singaporeans of All Ages to Make Regular Exercise a Way of Life

• A new dance routine with easy-to-follow movements named “Spring to the Beat!” was launched at this year’s National Heart Week/World Heart Day event to foster an active lifestyle among Singaporeans of every age and improve their heart health.
• Co-developed with ITE College West, “Spring to the Beat!” has started its pilot run in selected primary schools in Singapore and SHF aims to roll it out to about 15,000 Primary 1 and 2 students in five years’ time to encourage children to stay active from young.
• Cardiovascular disease remains the top killer in Singapore, accounting for nearly one in three deaths a year, and SHF is promoting regular exercise as an effective way to keep it at bay.

Singapore, 3 October 2026 – The Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF) today launched “Spring to the Beat!”, a new dance routine designed to engage people of all ages in our community in regular exercise to level up their heart health. The launch was in conjunction with its annual flagship National Heart Week/World Heart Day event held at the Heartbeat@Bedok this year.

“Heart health is something that we can all take charge of, and small, consistent steps can make a meaningful difference to our overall wellbeing. Through ‘Spring to the Beat!’, we hope to make regular exercise more accessible, enjoyable and inclusive for Singaporeans of all ages. By bringing exercise into our daily lives in simple and fun ways, we can build healthier habits that stay with us throughout our lives,” said Mr Geoffrey Ong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Heart Foundation.

In its 55th year running, this year’s National Heart Week/World Heart Day event was themed “Fit for All Ages”, with the objective of promoting an active lifestyle among Singaporeans of different age groups, paving the way for a healthier heart. To engage event participants of various age groups, the event also held free exercise sessions, including Zumba Gold for the seniors and K Kardio for those who prefer a more intense workout.

Officiating at the event was Guest of Honour Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information & Ministry of Health, and Adviser to the East Coast GRC Grassroots Organisations (Kampong Chai Chee Division), also attended the event.

Staying Active to Battle Against Cardiovascular Disease

In Singapore, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major health concern, accounting for 31.1% of all deaths in 2025, or nearly one in three deaths. This translates into approximately 23 deaths attributed to CVD each day.

Multiple research studies have shown that a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity can significantly increase the risk of CVD and Singapore is not spared from this trend. A 2021 Singapore study involving 2,867 participants found that 47.7% of the respondents reported engaging in seven hours of sedentary behaviour or more a day. The study also found that insufficient physical activity was associated with poorer physical health-related quality of life.

Regular physical activity remains one of the most effective ways to support and improve cardiovascular health, and a healthy adult is recommended to engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity in a week.

“Building heart-healthy habits from young is essential for protecting our heart health over a lifetime. Regular physical activity helps keep us healthy, while cutting down on the sedentary hours can ward off cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol,” said Clin Asst Prof Muhammad Bin Idu Jion, Board Member of the Singapore Heart Foundation and Co-Organising Chairperson of National Heart Week/World Heart Day 2026. Dr Muhammad Idu is also Senior Consultant at the National Heart Centre Singapore’s Department of Cardiology.

“With the launch of the ‘Spring to the Beat!’ dance routine, we hope to encourage more Singaporeans to get into a more active lifestyle and exercise in a fun way. The dance routine comes in an ‘Easy’ version and an ‘Advanced’ version, making sure that it is suitable for everyone and that it truly lives up to this year’s event theme of ‘Fit for All Ages’!”

From Synergy to Energy

“Spring to the Beat!” was co-developed by SHF and ITE College West, building on the strong synergy established over the years, through various heart-health programmes and initiatives.

A group of lecturers and students from ITE College West’s School of Business & Services were actively involved in the development of the energy-filled dance routine. In creating “Spring to the Beat!”, the team considered how the movements could be made easy to follow for people of every age, with a focus on Fundamental Movement Skills to support gross motor skills, and designed it such that the dance routine would be a fun daily workout.

To the students involved, it was an empowering project to which they could apply what they have learnt in the classrooms to shape the future of our nation’s heart health.

Tan Sin Yee, Theresa, 19, a Year 3 student from the Higher Nitec in Sport Management course at ITE College West, shared: “As part of our Group Fitness Exercise module in school, we learn how to design activities that engage people of different ages and backgrounds. My involvement in the choreography for ‘Spring to the Beat!’ allowed me to put that learning into practice, and I hope that the dance will show people how staying active can be simple, fun and enjoyable!”

“We are pleased to continue our longstanding partnership with the Singapore Heart Foundation through ‘Spring to the Beat!’. This project has given our Sport Management students a meaningful opportunity to apply what they have learnt to create a simple, inclusive and engaging dance routine that encourages people of all ages to stay active. We hope that it will inspire more Singaporeans to make regular exercise part of their everyday lives, and take small but important steps towards better heart health,” said Ms Alice Seow, Principal, ITE College West.

Inspiring the Young and Our Community to Get Active

Since mid-September 2026, SHF has commenced the pilot run of “Spring to the Beat!” at selected primary schools across Singapore, and the dance routine is expected to reach out to more than 800 Primary 1 and 2 students by mid-October 2026 when the pilot concludes. This aims to encourage young children to engage in regular physical activity from young and bring what they have learnt in school back home to influence their family members. Over the next five years, SHF aims to roll out the dance routine to about 15,000 Primary 1 and 2 students in Singapore.

In addition, the dance routine comes in two versions — “Easy” and “Advanced”. The “Easy” version is a less strenuous edition which will be suitable for people of all ages, while the “Advanced” version would be one level up for those who prefer a more energetic workout. These were designed to make the dance routine inclusive, so that people of different age groups and fitness levels will be able to participate in it and exercise in a fun way.

Besides the physical launch at the National Heart Week/World Heart Day event, the full instructional videos of “Spring to the Beat!” will also be published on the Singapore Heart Foundation’s social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, from noon on 3 October 2026.