Singing in Petersfield - Pam Robson's monthly singing group

A very nice write up with photos about the monthly community singing group I run in Petersfield with support from Clive Robson and Dementia Friends Petersfield. We have a jolly good sing and a laugh on a Thursday afternoon.

New Year Health & Wellbeing Day 10th Feb 9.30-5pm at The Point, Eastleigh

I am leading the natural voice singing workshops during the day. Book your place now for your reboot! Enjoy our New Year Health and Wellbeing Day February 2018 Saturday 10th February 9.30 am - 5pm This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a relaxing yet energising day of holistic practice, suitable for all.  Classes are designed to promote health and wellbeing and include yoga, Feldenkrais, singing for health and meditation.  Bespoke individual massage treatments by Sensib Holistics are available to book here  and there will also be a special demonstration on nutritious and delicious health eating led by our fantastic resident chef.  Come and enjoy a bit of you time! Classes to choose from are: Hatha Yoga - a gentle yoga class working with the breath whilst moving through classcial yoga postures.  The class will end with a deep relaxation leaving you feeling refreshed and revived.  beginners very welcome. Introduction to Meditation - a gently guided session giving you the opportunity to learn basic meditation skills. Feldenkrais - an intuitive therapy that improves movement and posture by bringing awareness and understanding to movement patterns. Natural Voice Vocal Workshop - this session will be a fun and practical introduction to the many benefits that singing can bring and is open to all abilities.    All sessions are for 16 years plus and suitable for beginners.  Please wear loose comfortable clothing to all sessions. For more information about the day please email Suna at sunaimre@eastleigh.gov.uk or call 02380627823    The timetable for the day, more information and booking can be found our website or by calling the Point Box Office on 023 8065 2333 Tickets: £18 full day pass £12 half day pass (morning or afternoon) Or £7 for one workshop Special lunch offer available on the day The Point Leigh Road Eastleigh Hampshire SO50 9DE pointnews@eastleigh.gov.uk thepointeastleigh.co.uk Box Office: 023 8065 2333 Unsubscribe Me

Six week singing for Lung Health - Portsmouth

I'm pleased to say I'm running a six week pilot scheme for Sing for Lung Health at Buckland Community Centre on Friday mornings, 10.30am from 3rd of November. It's being supported by Breathe Easy Portsmouth and is open to anyone who has lung disease and would like to learn new skills to support your breathing, give you confidence and above all have fun.
Here is the link to the About My Area article. Photo from 'Sing for Your Lungs' at the Whittington Hospital, London.
http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Hampshire/Portsmouth/PO6/News/Local-News/311446-Singing-group-for-people-with-lung-conditions

Perpetual Movement Symposium

I'm looking forward to attending this day in London at the end of November. Movement was a major part of my voice training with Frankie Armstrong and it continues to weave in and around my singing and music making today in both community settings and performance. Really interested in the subtle ways you can get people moving without them realising it!

http://www.rambert.org.uk/join-in/events/perpetual-movement/

a symposium on dance and health

Rambert’s three-year programme supported by City Bridge Trust explores the therapeutic and well-being benefits of dance in a variety of healthcare contexts, from providing regular dance classes for people living with Parkinson’s or Dementia, to working with patients in hospitals and day centres.
To mark the conclusion of this programme, we’re hosting a day-long symposium bringing together arts practitioners and administrators with healthcare professionals to share their experiences, learning and insight. The day includes panel discussions, practical sessions, performances and a keynote speech from Dr Daisy Fancourt, Senior Reserch Associate at University College London and author of the new book Arts in Health: designing and researching interventions, published by Oxford University Press.

Singing and Movement for Parkinson's in Cosham

Portsmouth Parkinson's group have invited me to run some singing and movement sessions at their bi-monthly meetings at Cosham Community Centre.

We do a mixture of gentle vocal and movement exercises, some seated circle dance with backing, plus singing some old and new songs including folk songs and action songs. We also use percussion with the singing too. There are three main groups of people at the sessions: the people who are living with Parkinson's, their carers and then the volunteers and support staff who run the sessions. They all benefit from the singing activity in different ways.

Every session is different as they have visiting speakers, seated yoga, physiotherapy, tea and biscuits, information sharing and general support. The singing and music is the one activity they all get to do together as one group. I started in May 2017 and since then we've already seen an improvement for people's singing and movement. And its enjoyable too. It really lifts people's spirits.

Info about the group is available via the following link. If you know of anyone who would benefit from going along to this group, please pass this on - thank you.

https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/local-support-groups/regions/south-england/portsmouth-branch

photo credit: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/singing-to-beat-parkinsons-disease/8456998

5 week Circle Dance for Wellbeing starts 9th June

For FIVE WEEKS ONLY - starts 9th June!

Circle Dance for Wellbeing 
with Janet Ayers

Fridays 11am-12noon

Havelock Community Centre
324 Fawcett Rd, Portsmouth, Southsea PO4 0LQ

5 week taster sessions from Friday 9^th June - 7^th July inclusive

£4 each session or £15 for 5 weeks

Circle Dance is a gentle form of exercise which can be done both seated

and standing, moving to folk & pop tunes from around the world.

With very simple steps and movements there is no need for a partner and dances can be picked up very easily.

It promotes good health and well-being, lifts your spirits and is very enjoyable & creative. It’s open to all age groups as well as people with health conditions

such as dementia, Parkinson’s, Stroke, COPD and heart disease.

Call Janet now to book your place on 02392 811802

Email contact@janetayers.org if you have any questions about the session. Janet Ayers is a Community Artist with 15 years experience leading community singing and circle dance.

“It was a really enjoyable session - it didn’t matter that I didn’t know the moves, we all helped each other along!”

Circle Dance
for Wellbeing 
with Janet Ayers

Book your FREE circle dance workshop for your community group NOW!

Circle Dance is a gentle form of exercise which can be done both seated

and standing, moving to tunes and songs from all over the globe.

With very simple steps and movements there is no need for a partner and dances can be picked

up very easily.

It promotes good health and well-being, it lifts your spirits, is very enjoyable & creative.

It’s open to all age groups as well as people with health conditions

such as dementia, Parkinson’s, Stroke, COPD and heart disease.

Funded by Fratton Big Local & Big Lottery Fund

Call Janet now to book your free taster workshop on

02392 811802

Email contact@janetayers.org if you have any questions about the session.

Janet Ayers is a Community Artist with 15 years experience leading community singing and circle dance.

Creativity lives on for people with dementia

"So arts aren’t just a “way of keeping them occupied”, but may become avenues for releasing genuine creativity. It’s easy to assume with people rendered mute by dementia that their understanding and inner life has gone just as silent. “You hear time and time again from carers who use music with patients that suddenly there’s a reconnection,” says Crutch. They often say not that this has transformed the patient but that it confirms that the awareness they always thought was there really is there."
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/mar/11/forgetting-but-not-gone-dementia-and-the-arts-research-project-alzheimers