Scottish Ballet becomes dementia friendly

Posted on July 5, 2017

Scottish Ballet will set up a programme of dementia-friendly dance activities for people living with dementia, their carers and families across Scotland. Building on the company’s successful Dance for Parkinson’s Scotland project, the new programme is funded by an award of £150,000 from the Life Changes Trust.

The programme will include weekly intergenerational dance classes, designed to be fun, accessible and inclusive. People with dementia and carers who take part will also be invited to attend performances, visit rehearsals and meet the dancers.

Activities will take place in Glasgow, in studio space donated by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Scottish Ballet will also take activities on tour to cities such as Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. Dance professionals and Scottish Ballet staff will also be given dementia-specific training so that further activities can be offered, for example in care homes. For more information, visit scottishballet.co.uk.

Picture: A Dance for Parkinson’s session at Scottish Ballet. Photograph: Allan Irvine

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.