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Having launched LearnBurma, a charity designed to educate young people in the UK about the country, dance was used in his fundraising to symbolise freedoms people in the UK have that those in Burma do not.

In 2011, Mr Hammond became the first person to dance the entire 26-mile length of the London Marathon, taking eight hours and 50 minutes to complete the course, and finishing 34,692nd.

In 2012, he danced from John O'Groats to Land's End to raise money for oppressed people in Myanmar. On the journey Hammond raised over £40,000, danced with 30,000 people and spoke to 25,000 young people about Myanmar.

Ben Hammond said: "The endurance dance challenges came off the back of LearnBurma - I used to do tours of schools around the country and the dancing feats were a way to connect to young people, get them thinking about Burma, and end with them all joining in for a dance."

Mr Hammond's next project is to dance from Los Angeles to New York during the Easter and summer breaks, following Route 66 from LA to Chicago.

It will take 3-4 years to complete the journey of over 3,000 miles.

Media contact

Rowan Walker, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Media Relations
rowan.walker@ucl.ac.uk
+44 (0)20 3108 8516

Links

• Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
• View Ben Hammond's charity