Life Circles
Life Circles supported
the health and creativity of older people through inspirational, movement led, arts activity in care settings.
About Life Circles
45 care settings in Somerset and Devon were offered inspiring Life Circles sessions that usde movement, poetry, music, memories and imaginative leaps to engage,transport and enhance the lives of older people.
Life Circles worked in partnership with managers and care staff to improve the atmosphere and activities offered to their residents and embed creativity and energy into the culture of how we care for our elders.
Our Sessions
Our sessions aimed to address health and well-being issues and included work on body posture, muscle strength, fall prevention, improved breathing, flexibility and core strength.
All our exercises sprung from creative ideas as a way of engaging the mind, the heart and the spirit throughout the sessions. The workshops allowed people to use their imagination to remember and feel experiences and engage fully with life past and present. We used touch and sensory work with props and visual aids as powerful tools to bring people into the present.
Training
Integral to the project was the training we offered to artists and care staff.
An inspirational day for dance artists, activity co-ordinators and carers interested in developing engaging arts activities in care settings.
We offered two care staff from each setting the opportunity to train with us to support them in running sessions in between our visits. As part of this training, carers were invited to a National Training day and given a 35-minute Life Circles training film and a Resource Pack.
"These workshops are brilliant, so full of life and fun, we want them every week."
Activity Co-ordinator, Abbeyfield Care Home
The Life Circles Team
The Life Circles team were all qualified, skilled, experienced community arts and health practitioners with a training in dance and body work. They had many years experience of working in care settings, running innovative and engaging sensory sessions that energise the body, capture the imagination and lift the spirits.
"This work is very important to the health and well-being of people losing their independence. It is an essential activity to maintain a person's autonomy."
Vicky Jenson, Care Assistant
Training Film
Watch an extract from the training film to give you a real idea of the power of a Life Circles session:
Funding
This project was funded by Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation.
