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Dancers Wow Hampshire Care Home Residents With Ballet And Contemporary Show

Performers from an award-winning Hampshire dance school wowed residents of a Winchester care home with a vintage afternoon tea show.

Twenty students from Winchester City Dance served up a mix of contemporary and ballet pieces in solo and group dances at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton.

The visitors included children from the age of five and young adults in their late teens.
In a specially cleared space in the residents’ lounge, they performed ballet routines on the themes of Cinderella, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins and Aladdin alongside contemporary works.

To complement the dance spectacle, residents enjoyed afternoon tea served in China cups and saucers and accompanied by finger food sandwiches, cream cakes and eclairs, all prepared by chefs at the Worthy Road home.

Annie Powell from the Abbotts Barton Companionship team said the aim was to create the atmosphere of an afternoon tea dance, something many residents had enjoyed in their younger years.

Annie said: “Some residents used to be regular attendees of tea dances and one or two even met their life partner on the dance floor.

“For those who don’t have the ability to trip the light fantastic any more, we wanted to create an event that reminded them of days gone by when they used to hit the dance hall on a Friday night or, latterly, go to more gentle social afternoons of tea and dance.

“The students of Winchester City Dance all performed brilliantly and our residents really enjoyed it.

“It not only brought back many memories of their own dancing experience, it reminded some of accompanying their own children and grandchildren to dance classes.

“We were treated to a fantastic afternoon which was greatly appreciated by all residents and staff.”

Winchester City Dance was established in 2016 by Royal Academy-trained ‘Miss Carmel’. She said: “We were absolutely thrilled to be invited along and we had a fabulous time performing. It was lovely to see the residents enjoying the experience.
“It was such a great opportunity for our students to improve confidence and skills knowing they had brought joy to the residents.”

Miss Carmel said: “We aim to create a positive and nurturing environment for all of our students to learn at their own pace and enjoy their experience of dance.”