Tea Dance with a Twist
Yesterday’s ‘Tea Dance with a Twist’ was all about the ‘Twist’. It’s really difficult to put the experience of yesterday’s Plymouth Dance ‘Tea dance with a twist’ into words. More people attended… More smiles were raised through people joining in and experiencing such a joyous atmosphere. No one was excluded… We made sure of that 😊
The tea dance is a Plymouth Dance led project. Their fantastic team has put together a unique event which brought together people from Plymouth and the surrounding area. The ‘twist’ is that it does not exclude anyone and all communities are welcome.
It wasn’t all about those who could dance, but there were some splendid examples of dancers who had practised their routines to perfection. It was a very inclusive event where all attendees could have some involvement. People with limited mobility were encouraged to take to the spacious dance floor – specialist dance instructors showed them how to safely move and enjoy the music. People in wheelchairs joined in, moving their upper body – one did take to the dance floor and was witnessed to give their more ‘abled’ partner a run for their money.
We – at the Independent Living Advisor – have been coordinating the dance’s Independent Living Section. (The Independent Living Section is their other ‘twist’.) We have been working to bring together companies who provide information to help maintain independence, regardless of the person’s circumstance. Yesterday, we had representatives including; Horizon Hypnotherapy and Counselling; Assistants at Hand; Heybrook Bay investment specialists and ourselves, offering advice on health and Telecare Home Safety. We also had the Frontline Veterans’ Support charity and the Plymouth Citybus service representatives too.
The Independent Living displays gave opportunity for those attending to obtain advice and supporting information. Sounds fairly straight forward, but it was evident that some of the most significant conversations were with those who have not accessed their GP or other health services for some time. Yesterday, it was really good to just talk…