Daytime Dancehall
Disruption Awards 2021
University of Atypical
Daytime Dancehall was a project funded by the Trust from a proposal by Chris Ledger from the “University of Atypical”.
This is an organisation established in Northern Ireland for 25 years, led by people with a disability.
Chris had taken part in previous Trust funded events, including a residential weekend at the end of the Atlantic Philanthropies project in Northern Ireland (evaluated on the Trust website) where she influenced our thinking in the debate about the way forward.
This was an intergenerational dance experience. Dancers/dance facilitators and young physical theatre performers learned and then prompted social dances that stimulated muscle memory, built and retained friendships and gave everyone involved a good time. A plus factor for this programme was that the dancers and performers learn about dementia and gain experience that they can take forward into other projects or in their professional lives.
The social dances themselves were experimental, as well as being fun for the people with dementia and their carers who attended. One benefit of the project would be to underscore the legacy of the Atlantic Philanthropy project in Northern Ireland, and remind people of the role of the Dementia Trust in delivering work over the previous ten years.
Further images of these events were captured for the Trust website.
The Trustees were very sad to hear that Chris died of cancer just after her 60th birthday in 2020. She was an inspirational advocate for disabled and deaf artists and had a profound influence on our work in the field of dementia. She was a lovely woman, and a delight to work with.
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