Residents put on their dancing shoes for special visit

This spring Berkeley Court care home in Leeds opened its doors to two dance artists. The artists lived at the home for five days and in that time hosted a range of creative events for residents and colleagues to enjoy.  

Professional dance artists Kirsty Arnold and Tora Hed moved into the home on Tuesday 26 April. The artists led daily dance, movement and music sessions for the residents to promote physical and mental wellbeing. They also organised creative sessions with other artists, including a musician, a visual artist and sculpturer and a photographer. The project, called Care to Listen, was supported by Arts Council England and Yorkshire Dance.   

Our research shows that dancing provides a great opportunity for people to start and maintain good fitness habits. 65 per cent of older people seeing dancing as a fun and engaging way to keep fit. The benefit of dance goes beyond fitness, as 73 per cent of older people recognise that dancing can benefit their mental health.  

The project forms a part of a range of activities that always take place across all our care homes. These activities aim to promote physical and mental wellbeing, encourage residents and colleagues to try something new, make connections and have fun. By having the artists live in the home for several days, colleagues were able to learn new skills and deliver more fun and creative activities for our residents to try daily. 

Kirsty and Tora hope this project will play a role in challenging where art and dance can exist and bring new energy for both residents and colleagues.  

The residency ended with a celebration and exhibition of all the artwork, sculptures and photography created by the residents for friends and family enjoy.  
 
Discover more about Berkeley Court here.