Vital Dance for children
Trinity Laban conservatoire of music and dance
In the summer term of 2010, 2012 and 2014, Trinity Laban and Vital Arts collaborated on a series of dance residencies and workshops on the children's wards of the Royal London Hospital. These fun and fully inclusive sessions were devised to provide an enjoyable and innovative way of incorporating dance and movement into patients’ rehabilitative targets.
Specialist dance facilitators brought dance, play and creative movement to patients' bedsides, encouraging children of all ages and abilities to participate in playful, physical activities that support future functioning, learning and health. The programme included sensory work for those with special needs, bespoke one-to-one classes for patients undergoing neuro-rehabilitation, cardiovascular workouts for respiratory patients, creative movement for babies, toddlers and their parents, with streetdance and hip hop with those attending outpatient clinics.
The 2012 workshops formed part of our Looking up! series. Looking up! focuses on the Children’s Roof Garden on the 7th floor of the new Royal London Hospital and will capture the spirit of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Children and young patients at the hospital will take part in workshop activities including film making, oral history, tailor-made sporting activities, sound recording and a dance project with the physiotherapy team. The programme runs from October 11 to December 2012 and is developed in partnership with Rich Mix and Trinity Laban.
Trinity Laban is one of the world's finest centres for professional contemporary dance. Their groundbreaking education, community and social inclusion work make Trinity Laban a leader in the advancement of creative artistic practice. Their flagship Learning and Participation programme reaches London’s most socially excluded communities working in collaboration with community partners.
Outcomes and evaluation
Vital Dance has given both Vital Arts and Trinity Laban the opportunity to work together for the very first time, exploring the ways in which artists, physiotherapists and play specialists can work together for the benefit of young patients, share working methods and support well-being.
The Vital Dance Project brought many smiles, for the children, the dance facilitators and the hospital staff, there is no doubt that it has had many positive outcomes. Trinity Laban dance practitioners were professionals utilising their training and tools to help every child improve on their physical fitness, all of which was done with fun and smiles.
Evaluation reports from the workshop series can be found here: VITAL DANCE 2010, VITAL DANCE 2012
“The whole project is unforgettable and one of the best experiences of my life! Seriously I absolutely love it and think its amazing to see the change in children through dance/creative play.”
Patient parent
Parts of this project was made possible thanks to a Transformers grant, funded by The National Lottery, through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, and managed by ELBA. The Transformers grant programme is directing nearly £1.5 million of funding to communities in five of the Olympic Host Boroughs over two years. The grants are awarded to projects that really make a difference in people’s lives, particularly by those communities most affected by their proximity to the Olympic venues.
Funder
Partner
