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May 10, 2020

Don’t let D dancing stop… or the painting, crafting and chatting!

Have you heard of D Dance Theatre? They’re based in Oulton and offer social and dance activities for people over 50 in the Oulton and Cross Gates area. They’re one of our Time to Shine Small Funds projects, using their funding to encourage people to try Bollywood dancing. You might have seen their photos shared by Leeds Community Foundation on Twitter.

If you saw a recent Tweet you’ll know they haven’t stopped dancing yet. Like many other groups in Leeds, D Dance Theatre and its members have found Zoom to be a way to stay in touch online. It turns out that working out, having a Bollywood shimmy and a chat online can be just the thing when staying at home.

Some members of the group haven’t been finding social distancing and staying in easy. If people were feeling lonely before the lockdown, they might have found their few social opportunities have been taken away. It even could be harder to go out again once the lockdown is lifted. Some worry about their mobility, finding dancing can increase confidence and balance. So being at home and not dancing could make getting around safely more difficult too.

But D Dance Theatre is trying their best to keep members moving and connected to the D Dance family. As well as continuing the Bollywood dance classes online, the ladies have been sharing their other creative talents. Hannah from D Dance tells us many of their members are arty and crafty, and don’t realise how good they are. By sharing with the group, they’re able to have their work appreciated and some great conversations have sprung up. You can see Dot’s painting of a cat at the top of this page – beautiful!

It’s good to hear of yet another Time to Shine delivery partner reaching out to their members and keeping them connected. Even in difficult times, groups and organisations across Leeds are supporting and encouraging older people to stay active and stay in touch while staying at home.

You can find out more about D Dance Theatre on their website or their Facebook page.

Gillian Schofield
Time to Shine Monitoring and Evaluation Assistant