Oxon Senior Citizens All Set To Move And Groove
Local Charity, Dance Creative, Receives £118,000 to Expand Services
Oxfordshire dance charity, Dance Creative, which changes lives through dance by offering dance classes to senior people in the county, has secured funding from Reaching Communities – a National Lottery fund – to expand its work.
The charity’s ‘Dance for Life’ programme focuses on older people in Abingdon, Bicester and Witney, with weekly classes led by professional dancers to help maintain mobility and good mental health, to smile and laugh, and make friends. There is also a weekly online class for anyone who can’t attend in person.
In addition to supporting this existing work, the Reaching Communities funding means that there is a new Monday morning class in partnership with Oxford City Council, which takes place in the new Bullingdon Community Centre. The group, called Silver Shakers, originally met before lockdown, and support from Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, and Reaching Communities has enabled the group to re-start. The funding will allow Dance Creative to create ‘dance at home’ packs, which it first introduced during the pandemic – props that can be used by people to dance in the comfort of their own homes. The new funding will also facilitate Dance Creative to be part of Oxford City Council’s Dance for Parkinson’s project, which is part of a national programme of high-quality dance for people with Parkinson’s, and their carers and family.
Caroline Moss, Dance Creative’s co-founder and Artistic Director, is passionate about what dance can give to older adults. “A good later life is helped by maintaining as much mobility and fitness as possible. Dance is a great way to do this, as anyone can join in, from a wheelchair user through to the very active. Most important of all, dance boosts your mental well-being: smiling and laughing as you dance around to Elvis or Ed Sheeran is instantly uplifting.”
Scientific research has shown that dance is an antidote to loneliness – dancing with other people increases social closeness and personal relationships and can stave off depression and anxiety. Caroline has an important message for anyone with an elderly friend, neighbour or family member in Oxfordshire: “It’s all too easy to feel trapped at home as you get older. If you know someone who could benefit from a bit of fun, some company, and the chance to get fit or maintain mobility, please get in touch. We want to help as many people as possible to benefit from these easy, life-affirming classes.”
See flyer below and our community page for details of all our classes:
https://dance-creative.co.uk/community-work/
