Active Lives HIT relaunches with Dance for Wellbeing conference
- 17th November 2021
Our long-standing Active Older People Health Integration Team (APPHLE HIT) has relaunched as Active Lives HIT, to better reflects its focus on the benefits of physical activity to health and wellbeing over the course of people’s lives. To coincide with the name change, Active Lives HIT hosted a Dance for Wellbeing conference on 16 November 2021, in partnership with Active Ageing Bristol and Bristol Dance Futures.
The day, aimed at health and care practitioners, navigators and commissioners, and dance practitioners and producers, looked at how dance can help to support people’s health at all points of their care pathway, and how it fits with the priorities of the health and care system.
Contributors shared evidence about what works, and how dance and movement can be put into practice to support people’s care.
Speakers included:
- Kiki Gale, MBE, performer, choreographer, community dance artist and founding artistic director and chief executive of East London Dance; honorary life member, People Dancing.
- Dr Christina Gray, Director for Communities and Public Health, Bristol City Council
- Charlie Coward, Deputy CEO, Active Dorset
- Dr Sara Houston, Centre for Research in Arts and Creative Exchange, University of Roehampton
- Donna Baber, Arts Programme Manager, Fresh Arts, North Bristol NHS Trust and Rachael James, Community Dance Artist, The Original Spinners
- Lerato Dunn, Bristol Dance Futures Dancer in Residence and Colette Brown, Southmead Development Trust
- Adwoa Webber, Head of Clinical Effectiveness, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System
- Lucinda Jarrett, Stroke Odysseys, Rosetta Life
- Lisa Dowler, Small Things Dance Collective, Liverpool
- Tiffany Stott, Scottish Ballet
A recoding of the event will be available to watch shortly.
Participants took to the event chat and Twitter to share their responses and perspectives – here is a selection:
“Amazing to hear how your residency has developed and how future collaborations are growing it further :-)”
“Such amazing creative work in light of pandemic.”
“Thank you very much for today it has been very inspiring.”
“I really enjoyed the films in the break – fantastic idea that I may steal for future meetings…!”
“Really great morning spent at this brilliant event… It makes me excited about the future of dance and the growing recognition of the value of dance for health and well-being!”
“Thanks all fabulous event. Zoom dancing could just take off! Step fwd choreographers!”
Karen Lloyd, co-director of Active Lives HIT, said:
‘’The conference aimed to showcase how dance interventions can meet the priorities of the health and care sector across the life course in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, and it certainly achieved this. Our challenge now is to maintain this momentum, and work to influence policy and system leaders to embed Dance for Wellbeing across the system – within communities as a preventative measure, and in primary and acute care pathways to support treatment and rehabilitation.”
Active Lives HIT is looking forward to more exciting collaborative projects in the coming months, including a rowing/boat-building on referral programme with Active Ageing Bristol and All-Aboard Watersports, and an innovative link-up with The Wave, Bristol’s inland surfing destination. Keep an eye on the Active Lives HIT webpage or follow @BristolHealthP on Twitter for updates from the HIT.
