Reports

Below are a selection of reports for Green Candle’s past projects

Remember to Dance 2013-15:

Evaluating the impact of dance activities for people in different stages of dementia.

Findings from a two year study of Green Candle’s Remember to Dance programme supports growing evidence that regular dance activities can improve and prolong good quality of life for people in different stages of dementia. The research, conducted by the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health at Canterbury Christ Church University and Green Candle Dance Company, demonstrates how dementia focused dance activities improves the physical and mental wellbeing for people with the condition, as well as their carers.

Following regular Remember to Dance sessions, delivered by specialist practitioners, the participants showed evidence of improved wellbeing and positive moods, better co-ordination and sequencing, demonstrations of being in the here-and-now, positive social interactions and greater confidence, a reduction of listlessness and distress, and enhanced relationships with carers. Furthermore, the research suggests that programmes like Remember to Dance could potentially offer cost savings to health and social care budgets by reducing the need for premature admission into long-term care settings and administration of drugs.

The full report, officially launched at Aesop’s first national Arts in Health Conference and Showcase on Friday, 5 February 2016 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, is now available to view here: Remember to Dance: Evaluating the impact of dance activities for people in different stages of dementia


Remember to Dance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The project was funded by The Headley Trust and delivered in collaboration with East London NHS Foundation Trust and the Alzheimer’s Society, Tower Hamlets.

Uplift! Pilot Project 2013

In Autumn 2013 Green Candle Dance Company were funded by Vision Arts and Culture Redbridge to pilot Uplift! a dance and live music project. The ten weekly two hour workshops for people living with dementia and their companions, were housed in Redbridge Elderberries Day Care Centre. The Uplift! project was delivered in partnership with North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) Redbridge Older Adults Mental Health Team and Grovelands Memory Service, Elderberries Day Care Centre, Age UK Redbridge and Living Well Resource Centre. Over the course of the ten weeks Uplift! was evaluated in terms of a range of health and wellbeing outcomes by Green Candle and for the NELFT referred participants, two standardized outcome measures of communication and interaction and motivation for participation were used. There were a number of very positive indications that Green Candle Dance Company’s dance and live music sessions enhanced the quality of life, physical health, wellbeing and social interactive skills of the people living with dementia and their companions who particpated. Green Candle Dance Company has since recieved additional funding from Redbridge Olympic Legacy Fund and City Bridge Trust to enable the project to continue for another thirty weeks from September 2014 – June 2015. For the full Uplift! pilot project 2013 report, follow the link: Uplift! Pilot Project Autumn 2013 Final Report

Photo taken by Ellen Brittany Lake

Photo taken by Ellen Brittany Lake

Older Men Moving

Older Men Moving is an intercultural dance initiative for able and disabled, disadvantaged older men. The attached report focuses on a 30 week pilot delivered in 2013 funded by the Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group. Green Candle Dance Company ran weekly workshops with three groups of men in Tower Hamlets. Each of the three groups participated in 30 workshops over the course of the project. The participants took part in a variety of physical tests as well as a pre- and post-course lifestyle questionnaire. The results were resoundingly positive as this snapshot demonstrates: 93% improvement in lower body flexibility, 79% improvement in general fitness and 79% improved cardiovascular fitness. Deborah Earls, Assistant Manager of Mayfield House Somali Day Centre where one of the groups took place, commented on the positive impact the workshops Green Candle delivered had on the participants. “We have service users who make the trip from North London to come only for the Green Candle sessions. There is an overall feeling of true participation, anticipation and encouragement. We have some service users who can be withdrawn, with underlying mental health issues.  Some require a lot of support to engage with others, but when the music starts and the sessions begin, the hour is packed with social interaction and engagement with all of the men who encourage, praise, dance and laugh together.”  Due to the success of the project further funding has been secured, from City Bridge Trust for the Somali Men’s Group and the Lee Wright Trust for the Horwood Men’s Group, to continue Older Men Moving. The complete Older Men Moving report can be found here

Older Men Moving

Photo by Scott Campbell

 

Comments are closed.