About

    After teaching part time for a few years I handed in my notice at work out of the blue and decided it was time to follow my passion. However, I had no idea how I was going to go about it this!So, it was a Monday evening and I was teaching one of my Ballroom dance classes as usual. When one of my students walked in she asked my why I wasn’t looking my usual self. “I’ve just quit my job and I’ve no idea what I’m going to do next!”At the end of the lesson my student asked me if I would consider going into her father’s carehome to dance with the residents. I thought this sounded like a great idea! So the following week I had a meeting with the Activities Manager and within no time at all we had agreed for me to go in the following week to see how it would go. As soon as I walked through the door a week later I could hear laughter and I knew it was a happy place to live. The residents were all sat waiting for me to start. I introduced myself, put on some music and looked around to see if anyone was interested. Immediately two of the ladies were swaying to the music and one of them was singing along, she could still remember the words after the passing of years. Lisa, (the activities manager), said to me “I think this lady might be able to dance a bit, although she might not remember because of the dementia”. Well, I went up to her, offer her my hands and asked her to dance with me. She was a little tentative to stand, but after a minute it was clear that she had danced in the past and although she might not have remembered, her muscle memory certainly had and we waltzed around the room like we had been dancing together for years! It became apparent to me very quickly that not only was this something I could enjoy greatly, bringing my passion for dancing to the residents, but also it is something that they can smile and laugh about, reminisce, get some exercise and have an entertaining and enjoyable experience. I love it and I hope they do too!