—
Spectacles by the Sea
—
Spectacles by the Sea
—
Using Life Story Practice to create meaningful performances at The Sands Care Home
—
Date
Autumn 2018 & 2019
Location
The Sands Care Home, Morecambe
Performance
Commissioned by Deco Publique for Vintage by the Sea Festival - Devised and Performed by LPM
Collaborators & Participants
The residents and staff at The Sands Care Home
Funder
Arts Council England, Morecambe Town Council, Lancaster City Council
Project highlight
Having the honour to share personal conversations with residents that were developed into meaningful performances
Deco Publique have curated Morecambe’s Vintage by the Sea Festival since 2012 - alongside the weekend festival programme, activities and projects are commissioned to ensure the festival programme reaches local communities and organisations. For the last 3 years, we’ve been funded by the Arts Council England to build an ongoing relationship with The Sands Care Home through which we create opportunities for their residents to experience bespoke elements of the Vintage by the Sea Festival programme.
In 2019 we commissioned LPM Dance to produce a performance celebrating the vintage years of Morecambe, to be co-created by residents and delivered at The Sands.
Spectacles by the Sea engaged older people living in a care setting in bespoke movement and music, person centred, participatory performance. The responsive and semi-improvised work drew on a vintage theme enabling residents to participate practically whilst offering their own creative ideas.
Project Areas
Arts Commissioning | Project Management | Budget Control |Fundraising | Creative Direction
Life Story Practice
Life Story Practice is known to support people living with dementia and is used to help communicate important aspects of identity – such as interests or important stories from the person’s life. It has been shown to enhance a sense of identity, support communication and build relationships. It is just as valuable for other people living in care settings who may not be living with dementia.
We arranged for a preliminary meeting with the residents so that LPM’s performance could draw on elements of Life Story Practice. A chat about growing up by the sea, general interests, dance styles and music tastes allowed LPM to devise a unique performance. The final outcome followed a score integrating set material performed by the artists, participatory material including popular vintage songs and movement phrases, and parts inspired by the life stories of the residents themselves.
Props created by artist Katie Duxbury, inspired by the vintage theme and places residents had grown up, transformed the care home into a seaside picnic scene during the performance.
Motivations
This project came from a desire to reach new audiences in care homes in Morecambe and work more deeply with residents whose needs mean they can’t attend the festival weekend, yet are of a generation who would welcome a celebration of vintage experiences.
“Creating partnerships with organisations such as The Sands delivers such reciprocal value for us as a culture company, the artists developing their practice, the residents and the staff - and is integral to the way we deliver work. We were particularly keen to work with LPM Dance this year given their extensive experience of delivering work such as Dance for Parkinson’s with the English National Ballet. To witness the value of movement, music and participation on well-being, positivity and mobility makes this a very worthwhile project and one I hope we are able to continue for years to come.”
Lauren Zawadzki, Co-Director Deco Publique
“The two days we spent with the residents were incredibly heart-warming. It was brilliant to have time set aside to get to know everyone, and it was a privilege to hear some of their stories! Wearing a sparkly hat and sharing a dance with a lovely man, in front of the window with a panoramic view of the bay, will always stick with me.”
Daisy Williamson, Project Assistant
LPM are a Lancaster based-dance company with extensive experience working with older people living with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Their expertise allowed the performance to be fluid and supported residents in participating as fully as possible.
“Spectacles by the Sea was an exciting and unique opportunity to blend our person-centred participatory work together with our performance skills. Working within The Sands also meant we could reach out to residents who might otherwise be unable to experience live dance and performance. Taking time to chat with the residents initially was a perfect way to begin to build relationships. It immediately set the creative cogs turning about which songs, dances and activities could be incorporated into the performance piece. The artists came with a broad range of skills and experience which meant we could integrate many different styles from clog dance to tap, to lyrical dance to rock and roll.”
Helen Gould, LPM Dance
The Sands Care Home opened 20 years ago on the site of the old Grand Hotel - its three floors provide person-centred care for Residential and Nursing care patients.
“Our ladies and gentlemen at The Sands loved the music and dancing from Spectacles by the sea. The group spent time with our residents, chatting and involving them in the music choices for the dance show. It was wonderful to see them joining in wearing hats and scarves and singing along to old favourites.
We are very grateful to Vintage by the Sea for bringing these groups to us.”
Jackie - Activities Coordinator
“One resident who did not typically engage in dance and singing activities, joined in dancing with me with energy and enthusiasm!.”
Ellen Turner
Spectacles by the Sea Gallery
Photography, Bean Photo