Dance for Wellbeing: linking arts and healthcare services in Forest Gate

The Dance for Wellbeing project will see the delivery of two dance/movement and wellbeing courses for adults over 60 years of age in Forest Gate, using a local public space.

Through the development of community networks and linking to Newham social prescribing / link workers, the project will set up the following two dance sessions

-       Dance for over 60’s – aimed at active/mobile older adults

-       Dance for health and wellbeing – a seated to standing session for adults with movement / balance issues, referred through Newham social prescribing links.

The project aims to:

·      Develop links between dance / arts and health in Forest Gate, through researching and developing relationships with doctors’ surgeries and social prescribing networks in Forest Gate and Newham.

·      Encourage a positive association of life long physical movement and creative interaction to improve general health and wellbeing. Through activities that encourage physical awareness, creativity, and ownership of a changing physicality.

·      Bring members of the community together in a local public space/building combating loneliness and encouraging peer support

I am a resident of Forest Gate and currently work with various populations using dance, including artist-in-residence at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Guys & St Thomas’ Hospital.

The Dance for Wellbeing project is now dancing!!

Initial links have been made through Social Prescribers and Link workers in Forest Gate, alongside other local community groups.

 Two groups are running at the Forest Gate Learning Zone (FGLZ) on Monday afternoons.

1.    Over 50s Dance – active adults aged 50+ (Mondays 1:00-2:00pm)

2.    Moving Well – seated to standing session, adults with movement / balance issues (Mondays 2:00-3:00pm)

 New participants are welcome at both groups.

 The FGLZ kindly offered a community rate hire fee. Therefore, the budget has been re-allocated to fund a third strand.

3) Care to Dance - at Westgate House Care Home, Romford Road. Friday mornings throughout March 2023.

 Thus far the Dance for Wellbeing project has:

·      Initiated links between dance / arts and health in Forest Gate, through researching and connecting with social prescribing networks in Forest Gate.

·      Encouraged a positive association of life long physical movement and creative interaction to improve general health and wellbeing. Through activities that encourage physical awareness, creativity, and ownership of physicality.

·      Brought members of the community together in a local public space/building, FGLZ, to encourage community peer support and friendship.