Forget me Knot was the theme of three days of interactive music and dance performances that took place across five wards at Queen’s Hospital, Burton.The FRONTLINEdance company, a collective of professional disabled and non-disabled dancers, obtained an Arts Council ‘Grant For The Arts’ to do hospital performance work which included performing at Queen’s Hospital and Royal Stoke Hospital.
Leading up to the performances, staff and patients were asked the question ‘what do you never hope to forget?’ through postcards available around the Trust. Responses to this question were used as creative inspiration for songs performed during the sessions.
Two dancers, Clare and Mary, along with musician and singer Greg, worked closely with choreographer/director Rachael Lines to create a performance experience which had patients, visitors and staff at its heart.The aim was to increase self-esteem, confidence and teamwork skills, and challenge preconceptions of the ageing body. The team members brought their talent to our patients through sensitively engaging them in conversations, singing, and movement. One of the dancers, Mary Presidge, 66, was an Olympic gymnast in the 1960s before beginning a professional dance career that has spanned five decades.
Patients enjoyed the performances. One said: “The music took me back to my childhood. I imagined fairies down the bottom of the garden.” Another patient said, “It made me feel like I was part of the real world.”
Staff also learned a lot, and several are already exploring ways in which they could use some of the engagement techniques used by FRONTLINEdance with other patients. The performances took place in and around the ward bays and day rooms.
Conversations, singing and participation were encouraged and the team liaised with nurses throughout to be constantly aware of what was appropriate. There was some gentle 1:2:1 participatory work and the FRONTLINEdance team had thought carefully about the space, the ward set up, the working environment and who their audiences would be throughout the creation process.
They also worked closely with elderly care and dementia care specialist nurses at Queen’s Hospital. More about the company is available at https://frontlinedanceltd.wordpress.com