On Wednesday 9 March 2011 around 65 older people including residents from Central & Cecil, Ealing Family Housing and Lewisham Homes, gathered at the Rivoli Ballroom, Brockley, London, to celebrate ‘growing old disgracefully’ with a day of fun, laughter and ballroom dancing.
Central & Cecil’s Arts & Education department, which coordinates artistic, therapeutic and social activities for residents, have organised several Growing Old Disgracefully events in previous years, including an event in Kilburn in 2008, which was opened by the MP for Camden at the time, Glenda Jackson.
For their 2011 event, the Arts & Education department chose an unusual venue, The Rivoli Ballroom, a 1950s Grade 2 listed ballroom. Central & Cecil’s Arts & Education Coordinator, Alison Teader said: “The idea behind ‘Growing Old Disgracefully’ was to provide our residents with a magical day where they got the chance to be treated to an event in a unique, unexpected and evocative setting. We wanted to emphasise the idea that you are never to old to learn, take on new challenges or broaden your horizons.”
In order to do this the Arts & Education department offered attendees a packed programme including an updated version of an Old Time Music Hall Show by Frantic Theatre. There was a talk from former Central & Cecil Arts & Education Coordinator, Tony Jaffe about the importance of the arts and the benefits of trying new things in later life.
The attendees then split into three different workshops: a singing group led by Michael McLaughlin where participants learned and performed songs for the whole group; an art talk by local artist Paul Riley and a craft session where participants learned how to make flower corsages from scraps of paper and wire.
The event finished with an elegant tea dance, complete with beautifully laid tables with vintage china tea sets and cake stands, while a live jazz band played old favourites from the 40’s and 50’s. Many residents took to the dance floor to show off their ballroom dancing moves from years gone by, while two glamorous usherettes from Lewisham’s theatre group Teatro Vivo, dressed in pillbox hats and 1950s style red dresses helped with the activities and encouraged people to share memories of ballroom dancing.
Mr. Rustum Ali, 73, from Philip House, one of our sheltered schemes in Kilburn impressed the other tenants with his expert ballroom dancing at the Rivoli Ballroom. It was a wonderful opportunity for him to take to the floor again and show off his fantastic dancing skills and have a queue of women all wanting to dance with him, emphasising what he is still able to do rather then the things he can no longer do because of the stroke. He said: “I was a dance teacher for 12 years and regularly held dance classes for tenants at Philip House until four years ago when I had a serious stroke which left me unable to speak. However, I still love dancing and know them all – from foxtrot to samba and ballroom dancing and I regularly attend dance classes. I loved this event and danced with lots of other residents.”
Benefits for attenders:
- Enjoyment “Can we have this every week please” “ A most unexpected, lovely day”
- Feeling part of something “Wonderful Fellowship – everyone getting together…The dancing is the cream on the cake”
- Feeling of achievement/self esteem – many of the people who attended the singing group had never sung in a group before and were a bit unsure about taking part. However after the workshop, group did an impromptu performance in front of everyone and one of the participants said “I can’t sing but look what happened”
- Singing group – emotional well-being & working as a team
- Physical exercise, chance for people to get out of their seats and dance “I’m going to be 92 this year but that doesn’t stop me from getting on the dance floor”
- Laughter “Corsages [art workshop] never laughed so much in my life”
- Sense of well-being – trying something new
About Central & Cecil:
Central & Cecil is a housing organisation providing care and support for vulnerable people across London, Luton, Berkshire and the Midlands through managing care homes, sheltered housing for older people, hostels for homeless people, supported housing for people with mental health support needs, as well as support for the Irish community and Gypsies & Travellers.
Residents of Central & Cecil’s sheltered and care schemes benefit from the innovative Arts & Education Programme, which offers artistic, therapeutic and social activities for residents, including for frail older people, such as art, drama therapy, aromatherapy, dance and film. For more information visit: www.ccht.org.uk
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