Tea Dances in partnership with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

The Tea Dance project has been part of Bournemouth Borough Council’s Arts Development programme for five years, programmed within the framework of the Joint Arts Plan, particularly in relation to aim 3: To promote equality of access and opportunity.

It also relates to several arts and health initiatives developed by Bournemouth Arts Development which recognise the contribution music, dance and cultural events make to enjoyment and improving health and well-being.

The Tea Dance programme also relates to the Bournemouth Physical Activity Strategy, which aims to increase participation of Bournemouth residents in physical activity across all social groups leading to improvements in health, well being and other social and economic benefits.

The Tea Dance programme is provided as part of the Service Level Agreement between Bournemouth Borough Council and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

Venue

Over the years the event has been held in many halls around Bournemouth; some have been less than satisfactory with uncomfortable seating and inadequate catering facilities. Over the last two years the event was held in the excellent Friends Meeting House in Boscombe which provided a pleasant environment and parking but is limited in size.   

The Pavilion Ballroom, with its history as a dance venue, provides the ideal setting and ambience. Its profile and distinctiveness – in terms of function, history and architecture – is raised through this accessible and open event. One woman attending the first event in January remembered how she had met her husband at a dance in the Pavilion Ballroom fifty years before. People said "This is how the ballroom should be used, with live music in the daytime, and accessible for everyone."

Aims

- To provide a friendly and accessible, high quality, social dance and music event aimed primarily at older frail people living in residential care, disabled people, or people living in isolation, but open to anyone.
- To raise the profile of the Pavilion Ballroom as a dedicated venue for this accessible event

These will be achieved through
- Monthly tea dances led by three BSO musicians
- Dedicated marketing to agencies and organisations working with older people as well as more general promotion

Why Music and Dance?

The Tea Dance is the ideal event to bring together music and dance in a social setting. A 2006 document Dance and Health from the Arts Council England and the Department of  Culture, Media and Sport, stated that "dance can have a powerful effect on people’s lives and we want to see the physical, emotional, mental and social benefits of dance extended to as many people as possible."

Research into the potential benefits of listening to music covers many areas of beneficial impact including the following:
· Listening to music primes the activation of those areas of the brain concerned with spatial reasoning.
· Music can be used by older people to facilitate and improve well-being, and develops self-identity.
· Listening to music reduces chronic pain

People attending previous Tea Dances said:
"This is the first time I’ve danced for 22 years – I feel out of breath but I’m pleased."
"Dancing makes you feel with things and that’s good for you."
"Dancing is good for your heart."
"Shall we get up and dance?"
"I wish I could. Even in my head I would."
"It’s a change from normal life, a pleasant escape"
"I can’t get to concerts in Bournemouth and appreciate nice music."
"The older you get, the more time you have to listen to music."
"It brings back memories and you get lost in music. . ."
"I want to listen and enjoy music, not the sort you hear in shops."
"This is a good atmosphere – as you get older you want something to do." 

See also "I Feel Out Of Breath But Pleased. Tea Dances - a place for movement and personal storytelling" which will open as a two page Word document in a new window.

Dates of future Tea Dances can be found at Arts Development - News and Events. Full details can be found at What's On - Tea Dances.