Dancers wow Hampshire care home residents with ballet and contemporary show

KEEP DANCING. Performers from Winchester City Dance take the floor at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton care home.

Performers from an award-winning Hampshire dance school wowed residents of a Winchester care home with a vintage afternoon tea show.

Twenty students from Winchester City Dance served up a mix of contemporary and ballet pieces in solo and group dances at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton.

The visitors included children from the age of five and young adults in their late teens.

KEEP DANCING. Performers from Winchester City Dance take the floor at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton care home.

In a specially cleared space in the residents’ lounge, they performed ballet routines on the themes of Cinderella, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins and Aladdin alongside contemporary works.

To complement the dance spectacle, residents enjoyed afternoon tea served in china cups and saucers and accompanied by finger food sandwiches, cream cakes and eclairs, all prepared by chefs at the Worthy Road home.

KEEP DANCING. Performers from Winchester City Dance take the floor at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton care home.

Annie Powell from the Abbotts Barton Companionship team said the aim was to create the atmosphere of an afternoon tea dance, something many residents had enjoyed in their younger years.

Annie said: “Some residents used to be regular attendees of tea dances and one or two even met their life partner on the dance floor.

“For those who don’t have the ability to trip the light fantastic any more, we wanted to create an event that reminded them of days gone by when they used to hit the dance hall on a Friday night or, latterly, go to more gentle social afternoons of tea and dance.

“The students of Winchester City Dance all performed brilliantly and our residents really enjoyed it.

“It not only brought back many memories of their own dancing experience, it reminded some of accompanying their own children and grandchildren to dance classes.

“We were treated to a fantastic afternoon which was greatly appreciated by all residents and staff.”

After the visit, residents said how much it meant to them.

Pauline Elliot said: “It was all so beautiful.”

Caroline Ward said: “It reminded me of my own school dance days which were wonderful.”

Shirley Prince said: “It brought back so many memories.”

Winchester City Dance was established in 2016 by Royal Academy-trained ‘Miss Carmel’.

She said: “We were absolutely thrilled to be invited along and we had a fabulous time performing. It was lovely to see the residents enjoying the experience.

“It was such a great opportunity for our students to improve confidence and skills knowing they had brought joy to the residents.”

KEEP DANCING. Performers from Winchester City Dance take the floor at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton care home.

The school has a current roll of around 300 students who choose from 18 different classes across child and adult dance specialisms.

Miss Carmel said: “We aim to create a positive and nurturing environment for all of our students to learn at their own pace and enjoy their experience of dance.”

KEEP DANCING. Performers from Winchester City Dance take the floor at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton care home.

Last year, Winchester City Dance was named Best Dance Studio in Winchester by the organisation Distinguished Teaching and picked up an accolade of the same name at the city’s Quality Business Awards.

In 2021, the school was voted Best Children’s Activity in Hampshire in the Little Ankle Biters Awards.

Accreditations from both Independent Dance Training and the National Association of Teachers of Dancing means students at the school can take formal examinations, some of which enable them to gain UCAS points for university entry.

TEATIME. Abbotts Barton resident Anne Devonshire raises a cuppa at the home’s vintage afternoon tea which featured performances by Winchester City Dance.