One hundred and eighty people living with dementia in Leeds will benefit from the Yorkshire Dance charity’s movement and music sessions thanks to a grant.

The £57,000 grant will support Yorkshire Dance’s In Mature Company project, which sees a team of dance artists and musicians deliver weekly creative sessions in dementia care homes and dementia cafes across Leeds.

Each individual’s experience of dementia is different, but common symptoms affect communication, perception, memory, behaviour and emotions.

These symptoms create barriers to close relationships and make connecting and communicating with the wider world challenging meaning people living with dementia are at high risk of loneliness and isolation.

In Leeds, an estimated 8,700 people have dementia and research in 2023 by University of Bedfordshire found 80 per cent of care home residents with dementia suffer from loneliness.

Since 2018, Yorkshire Dance has pioneered the use of movement and music to reduce loneliness.

In ‘Mature Company’ sessions incorporate moments of touch, such as hand holding and encourage non-verbal communication between people with dementia, staff and carers. Live music not only provides reminiscence, with spontaneous singalongs, but also sets the mood in the room.

Yorkshire Dance use Dementia Care Mapping™ to measure the impact of In Mature Company on the wellbeing and happiness of care home residents.

The new funding will make a significant difference for people living with dementia in Leeds. Over the next two years the funding will support Yorkshire Dance’s team of dance artists and musicians to deliver weekly sessions in four dementia care homes and cafes.

The grant will also fund an online dance session, which sees care homes across Leeds join each other every week to enjoy moving together.