Hachette India

Dance and Movement Sessions for Older People

Delia Silvester

This practical handbook will empower activity coordinators and carers to run safe, rewarding and health-giving dance and movement sessions with older people, including with those who are frail, who have limited mobility or who are living with dementia.

The authors describe the many benefits of dance and movement for older people, and address important practical considerations such as carrying out risk assessments, safety issues, adaptations for specific health conditions and disabilities and how to select appropriate props and music. Step-by-step instructions for 20 dances and movements drawn from a wide range of eras, cultures and traditions are then provided. Ranging from Can CanÂ and Charleston to hand jive, morris dancing, sea shanties and traditional hymns with movements, there is something to suit every mood and occasion.

This is an essential resource for activity coordinators and carers working with older people in care homes and day centres.

Delia Silvester

Delia Silvester first trained as a ballet dancer and then as a PE instructor. She worked for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) and the British Nursing Association, and over a period of twelve years, through outreach work in care homes, developed a series of movements-to-music and dances specifically designed to address the mobility and memory limitations of older people. Delia ran workshops for activities organisers on behalf of the National Association of Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA) in south-west England. In 2004, she founded Dance Doctors, a dance company that performed in care settings, teaching both residents and staff. Susan Frampton has worked in the magazine and book publishing industries for over thirty years as a publisher and editor.