Many of us know someone living with or effected by dementia. From our experience we know that people love to dance and celebrate life. Dance can help us re-connect with each other even when things are getting a bit overwhelming.
At Cheshire Dance, we work with care home settings, hospitals and the local community to ensure those living with Dementia can continue to dance.
Although Cheshire Dance does not consider dance as a therapy, the art form itself has inherent therapeutic properties which enhance the art form benefits, enabling participants to experience wide ranging health benefits; “In contrast to physiotherapy or exercise based models, dance offers auditory, visual, tactile and somato-sensory stimulation, musical experience, social interaction, emotional perception and interaction, memory and motor learning.” (Scholl, 2013, p.5)
Particularly when working with older people with dementia, whose cognitive powers may be diminishing, dance offers an opportunity to connect with individuals through a physical, lived body experience, irrespective of their ability to communicate verbally.
Research shows that...
* There are 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2025. 225,000 will develop dementia this year, that's one every three minutes. 1 in 6 people over the age of 80 have dementia.' – Alzheimers Society
* The UK population is ageing. By 2040, nearly one in seven people is projected to be aged 75 or over'. – National office for statistics
* According to research, studies indicate that regular dancing once or twice a week lowers the risk of cognitive decline. A robust 21-year study amongst older people, undertaken by Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECM) in New York City showed that ‘Of any activity that you do, regular dancing was found to offer the most protection against dementia, offering a 76% risk reduction.
It is for this reason that working to reach people living with Dementia is so important to Cheshire Dance.
If you would like to support our work in Cheshire West and Cheshire East, please consider donating either a one off amount or a regular payment. All funds will go directly to our projects and will help to ensure that we can support our local communities through dance.
For a greater insight into our organisation, please visit: www.cheshiredance.org. Or, find us on social media.
To chat with us about our work, please get in touch at: hello@cheshiredance.org