Here at The Hollies, we strive to provide top-level care for all our residents – including different forms of therapy sessions and activities for our residents to enjoy. Recently, we have begun working with World Jungle to bring interactive dance to our facility. Dance is a wonderful form of therapy and provides many benefits. Our first session was on the 8th of October 2019, and with its great success, we will be including an interactive dance session in our Activities Plan every month.
Jane Manning, one of the co-founders of World Jungle, is very passionate about dance, nutrition, well-being and diversity. This, in addition to her 25 years of experience with dance instruction, allows for the World Jungle program to enhance the lives of people not only locally, but nationally and internationally as well. Since its creation in 2006, World Jungle has been actively providing healthcare solutions through many programs including interactive dance.
WHY DANCE IS BENEFICIAL TO RESIDENTS
Emotional and Physical Wellbeing
Dancing allows for patients to move in the way that they want to. There is no set of instructions to follow, no pre-determined rules to follow. Dance is about self-expression. For care home residents, it allows them to express how they’re feeling in the moment to music. Care home residents visibly come to life when they dance. They are safely encouraged to move how they’d like to – exercising their sense of touch and their mobility. The social interaction residents have when participating in interactive dance sessions can be extremely positive for their emotional wellbeing.
Dancing can Calm Dementia Patients
Dance is known to aid with the progression of residents with dementia. Dancing can improve the mood of residents, calm agitation and improve their quality of life. It can also help to better build a bond of trust between care home faculty and residents – which provides a better atmosphere for the residents and can create fond memories for both the them and the staff.
Dancing is FUN
Dancing allows for residents to be in the moment. Hence, interactive dance sessions are wonderful for community and family engagement – being in a positive environment is incredibly beneficial to the residents and their families. Residents enjoy moving to the music with staff and their loved ones, unburdened by the potential frustration of language as a barrier or unclear memories. Dance creates happy memories for staff, residents and their families – and the joy and laughter it generates is palpable.
For more information or any enquires please contact the Hollies directly on 01453 541400 or info@thehollies.co.uk