Vamos had a wonderful three days recently taking part in a residency in local Sanctuary Care homes. Dancing the Day, a partnership between Vamos Theatre, Sanctuary Care, and movement-play specialists JABADAO, brought dance and play to Regents Care Home in Worcester, Ravenhurst Care Home in Stourport, and Breme Care Home in Bromsgrove.
As part of the residency, Penny Greenland from JABADAO – who has over 30 years’ professional experience of working with older people - trained Sanctuary Care staff and Vamos members, including members of Vamos Young People’s Theatre, in using movement and play when working with elders. Penny led some excellent sessions that emphasised themes such as the power of silence, finding deeper ways to communicate, the delight in finding synergy between the performer and resident, and using music, colour, and tactile materials for stronger interactivity.
For Vamos, this has been inspirational and incredibly useful research for our upcoming project Sharing Joy, an interactive performance using mask theatre, play, movement, music and laughter, which will tour care homes in Worcestershire and further afield this Autumn – and we were delighted to have the chance to receive extra training with Penny. After the residency, Artistic Director Rachael Savage commented, “We will use every ounce of what we have learned with Penny and challenge ourselves to discover even more ways in which mask theatre can offer genuine, interactive communication with elders”.
Dancing the Day filled the residents’ lounge with music and vibrant energy as young and not-so-young engaged in joyful and spontaneous movement. Helen Barron, Breme’s activities leader said: “It was absolutely wonderful and our residents loved it. It was such a pleasure to watch – just awesome. They played the music that our residents love. It was a resounding success, and we would love to have them back another time”.
The event followed the launch of a two-year arts programme across Sanctuary Care’s 61 homes called Shine! which has been launched to shine a light on the talents of care home residents through a variety of creative arts, including dance, music, literature, film and theatre.
Penny Greenland of JABADAO said: “It’s always a treat to work with Rachael and Vamos, but this time - joined by members of the Youth Theatre to create vibrant, dance events in three Sanctuary Care homes - was sheer joy. Their energy and enthusiasm was perfect. But it was also obvious that they had real focus and physical skill that meant we could work as a team so quickly.”
Photo by Anthea Bevan Photography