Dancing in Hospitals
“I know from experience of working with Danielle in the past, that our patients gain a tremendous amount from these projects. I’m genuinely excited to be working with Luminelle and the team to take this project forward.”
– Guy Noble, UCLH Arts and Heritage
UNDERCURRENT, is Luminelle’s newest hospital project bringing unseen stories from inside the hospital spaces to life, through a cocreative performance making process. This sensitive and nurturing process brings dance and live music onto wards and treatment spaces, enriching the hospital environment, and bringing positive expressive experiences to those receiving care. We ask questions of our role in supporting rehabilitation through connection, active listening, generosity of communication, and sharing of power in powerless spacces. We’re delighted to be supported by UCLH Arts and Heritage to deliver this programme on the Acute Stroke Ward at National Hospital for Neurology in 2022-23.
“The Dancing with Parkinson’s programme is an important innovation for NHNN. It helps people with Parkinson’s improve their levels of physical activity in multiple planes of movement whilst also providing the social and psychological benefits of play and creativity. Danielle and her team have developed a fantastic group connection and created a joyful environment for people with Parkinson’s to dance and be creative together. The dancers’ responses and findings from the pilot evaluation, have provided evidence that group cohesion and empathic connection are highly valued outcomes from dancing which has shown to provide greater sense of self belief, belonging and acceptance.”
– Ben Beare, Neurophysiotherapist, NHNN
Luminelle has a long standing history of collaborative partnerships with hospitals, hospices, and care homes including National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (UCLH Trust), Queen Mary’s Hospital (St. George’s Hospital Charity) and St. Joseph’s Hospice. From 2017-2019 we delivered a programme of dance in the neurorehabilitation units at NHNN and Queen Mary’s, and in partnership with the neurogroup at St. Joseph’s Hospitce for patients and community members to engage in dance and live music within the hospital or hospice environment.
In 2019 we published a short report in collaboration with Neurophysiotherapist Ben Beare to demonstrate the mixed methods approaches to gathering evidence for the dancing programme for people with Parkinson’s at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.