Year started: 2010

Moving Memory Dance Theatre is a company led by older women who have been making and presenting innovative, surprising and visually striking performances in a wide range of venues and public spaces (from London’s Sadler’s Wells, South Bank, and Parliament Square to local festivals, shopping centres & streets) for over 10 years. The work presents the perspectives, opinions and experiences of older people in ways that resonate with all-age audiences and challenge assumptions of age and ageing. The way the original members of the company came to this work, later in life, and the way older people in audiences responded to public performances, led to the development of our unique, co-produced Moving Well participatory creative movement practice. Company members are now trained facilitators and the company has created an online learning resource for participants and group leaders. Moving Well enables people to tell the stories they want to tell and express themselves through movement, sound, music, spoken word and digital projection and engages with peoples’ sense of personal identity. External evaluation has shown it leads to improvements in participants’ health and wellbeing and can reduce ageist attitudes. Through Moving Well, older women become role models, supporting other marginalized people, connecting experiences in a positive intergenerational creative process. We work with a broad range of groups including younger, disabled & neurodiverse people, people in care & people living with mental health issues. We also offer a training programme to facilitate groups to self-manage in the long-term.

Objectives

Endemic ageism means that older people are marginalised by wider society. These attitudes combine with changes in personal life circumstances and a lack of appropriate support to cause many older people to lose their sense of their individual identity and value. Moving Memory developed Moving Well as an innovative solution to help people stay healthier and active for longer. Its peer-led, co-production delivery mechanisms and high-level ambitions empower older people to regain their self-confidence, connect with others and become active members of their communities. Through Moving Well, people explore their own and other peoples’ stories and acquire a strong sense of purpose which can change the way they see themselves.

Scope

Moving Well is an ongoing initiative and has developed over several years through action-learning collaborations with: Active individuals (50+) who are looking to develop new interests; Older people with long-term health physical and mental health issues and/or disabilities, who enjoy ongoing, accessible creative activity; Residential and day care and activity providers including local authorities, commercial care operators, Age UK and other charities; Professional dance and health practitioners including through organisations such as People Dancing and NAPA (National Activity Providers Association).