at the moment we can socially distance dance together with all COVID-19 guidelines and risk assessments in place. As we head into winter, it continues to be a real lifeline, bringing some fun, laughter and not to mention the health and wellbeing benefits for everyone. I want to say a huge thank you and lets keep dancing through the pandemic whilst we can!

Thanks to Ideas Test who provided funding for this small experiment at Amherst Court, part of Avante Care and Support.  Observations from an Arts Researcher from Canterbury Christ Church University will be captured in an evaluation at the end of this project along with some fantastic photos taken by Spaghetti Weston, thank you to both.

Luci and Wendy will be delivering the final fun-filled session tomorrow that will bring a variety of movement and art activity.

Pushing our arms forward and back, up and down to pressing our fingers to thumb are movements that we repeated again with stretchy material and pipettes.

“I feel warmer now”

Trying to keep the beach ball on the blue stretchy material creates fun and laughter and we manage well, until it bounces off onto the floor and ‘Sam’ the dog gets his teeth stuck in.

Moving on, we squeezed our pipettes and when the paint meets the paper we move it around to create a bright and colourful collage.  It’s amazing what you can see from a tree to a spaceship…

“Green is my favourite colour”

Next week we’ll be circling our wrists, arms and shoulders to get ready to spin some art.

On Monday, 13 April, Luci and Wendy went along to Amherst Court and met 4 of the participants and activity coordinator to get to know each other over a cup of tea.  They were soon talking about travels and life experiences in South Africa, including Cape Town and Nigeria.  Other interests included gardening, feeding birds, singing, painting, drawing and movement for exercise.

The first delivery session included a mix of men, women and a dog.  Pictures of ‘Table Top Mountain’ and ‘Agbokim Waterfalls’ in South Africa were circulated which stimulated conversation.  Luci then delivered a warm up for hands, shoulders, arms and legs.

Following the warm up, Wendy began to finger cast and curiosity filled the room.  The smell and sensation of the alginate became a talking point, including visits to the dentist and having your teeth moulded.

Towards the end of the session, playful peacock feathers and stretchy material along with music provided some fun and laughter.

Over the next 5 weeks, Luci and Wendy will be delivering more sensory dance, movement and visual art activities and towards the end some observations from a researcher will contribute to the evaluation.

From voice to conducting, movement with materials, powder pigment painting to drawing on foil, storytelling and much more.

The ideas explored during the sessions will be used by the participants in their own activities and spare time.

Towards the end of September we will come together once again to share the art work created and celebrate.  Spaghetti Weston will be compiling a short film which will be viewed alongside the photography taken by Lizzie Bradshaw.

Thank you to all the participants who have taken part and also to Gravesham Borough Council and Kent County Council for making it possible through funding.

For Luci, Tania and Wendy who knows what’s next, but they will be continuing to dance, move, sing and create art.

Moving onto back to back, Wendy encouraged us to use descriptive words.  We have drawn a range of obscure objects and quite successfully, from a torch to wizard and fish to a sheep.  Challenging us to use words to describe shapes, patterns and lines, rather than describing what it actually is.

Next week we’ll have more movement and visual art to explore.  So watch this space.

The majority can make it which is great news and everyone will receive their own copy of the evaluation report and DVD of the film.

More news and photos to come following the event….

The research team include Dr Ann Skingley from the Sidney De Haan Research Centre based at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent and Stephanie De’Ath from Trinity Laban’s Dance Science Department in Greenwich.  With support from Luci Napleton, Project Manager and Gary Weston, Designer to pull it all together, it definitely was a journey.

We are all very excited and proud of edna, as positive results are highlighted in the report that dance, movement and art is beneficial for health and wellbeing.  The main focus of the research and outcomes, stem from a psychosocial and physiological perspective. Thank you to everyone who has been involved and supported this project from the beginning.

To read the evaluation report you can download by clicking on the evaluation tab on this website or by clicking this link http://www.ednasjourney.co.uk/evaluation/.  A hard copy of the report is available upon request and availability.  Please contact Luci for more information.

We look forward to delivering more edna’s in the heart of communities very soon.

“it was like we were one big family” from Anne.  We couldn’t agree more.

Enriching experience and tapping into everyone’s creativity, that some people didn’t even know they had, or did know but needed someone like Wendy and Rebecca to release it. “It’s up there, just need someone to start me off” – Janet.

Inspiring and empowering, so much so, Brenda has joined a friendship club, “something that I would not have done before coming to edna”.

Doreen found that “it bought me out of myself” developing her confidence and would like to do this again.  I think we all want to.

So the next steps.  The research team are collating all the data and pulling together the report which will be shared with everyone, so another get together will take place a bit later on this year.

In the meantime, I hope as many people as possible will visit The Blake Gallery, in Gravesend to find out more and enjoy the sharing of our journey.  Please hurry it’s only on until Sunday, 26 January.