Care Home Residents Join Global Celebration of Dance with Strictly-Style Fun
Dozens of residents and staff at 21 care homes in the south devised, rehearsed and staged their own dance routines as entries in a Strictly-inspired competition.
The gentle, good-natured rivalry at Colten Care homes in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex proved the perfect way to celebrate International Dance Day.
The contest featured performances in various styles to music including Tchaikovsky’s Sugar Plum Fairy, Abba’s Mamma Mia, the Latin pop hit Macarena, Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, tunes from Bollywood movies and traditional Scottish dances such as the Dashing White Sergeant and the Gay Gordons.
As well as those stepping out on the dance floor, chair-based residents had the chance to participate through upper-body movements.
To add a splash of visual colour, there were costumes and props on show ranging from Mexican hats and pom poms to penguin suits.
In the run-up to Dance Day, Colten’s Care Music and Arts Partner Fiona Pritchard went along to each home, collecting video recordings of the various competition entries.
One, from Whitecliffe House in Blandford, was even filmed on board a minibus trip.
On the Day itself, residents at each home sat back with glasses of bubbly in the comfort of their respective lounges – decorated party-style with disco lights – to enjoy a compilation of the pre-recorded footage aired via Zoom video.
The viewers were invited to vote for their favourites via the interactive polling tool Kahoot.
Fiona said: “It was amazing to see so many of our residents get involved in the rehearsals leading up to the filming of the entries. They learned their moves so quickly and so well.
“And when Dance Day arrived, it was a joy for everyone to watch how the various homes interpreted their routines.
“It served to underline the fact that dance is an ideal way to express your emotions and feelings and enjoy your body.”
Among those enjoying the show were Eve Walsh and Margaret Webster, residents at Abbey View in Sherborne.
“It was such fun,” said Eve. “I haven’t had that much amusement in years.” Margaret concurred, adding: “I wish we could do this every week!”
There were similar sentiments at Wellington Grange in Chichester, where resident Jose Allman said of the home’s Sugar Plum Fairy routine: “I really enjoyed joining in with this.”
Melissa Siat Caparros, Companionship Team member at The Aldbury, a dedicated dementia care home in Poole, said: “Many of our residents and staff are dance enthusiasts.
“Dance is so effective in stimulating social interaction, enhancing mood, reducing anxiety and increasing self-awareness and self-expression.”
Once the voting was done, the most popular entry was declared to be the one from Castle View in Poundbury.
Residents there performed a version of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious that included a full-size penguin outfit and, of course, a Mary Poppins character.
