'Golden oldies a big hit with our patients'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
ELDERLY people in Moray have been getting their dancing shoes on at silent discos.
The project, which is the first of its kind in the area, saw patients at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin and residents at the town's Abbeyside Care Home enjoy dancing to their own choice of music through specially designed headphones.
The silent discos were led by artist Graeme Rodger and Mike Inglis as part of a supported Grampian Hospital Arts Trust project.
The artists were joined by Gail Sneddon, dance development officer for Dance North and Steve Gasgarth, sound artist and audio producer for Coyote Initiatives.
Studies have shown that with the aid of music, dementia and Alzheimer's patients can recall memories and emotions, and have enhanced mental performance, with real positive benefits.
Mr Rodger said the sessions had been a big success.
He said: "The idea for the project came from myself and Mike looking at how we could engage with the hospital community in innovative ways, while linking with locally based professional artists and arts organisations such as Dance North and Cayote Initiatives.
"We have seen evidence of the positive impacts of silent discos from other trials and wanted to pilot this idea in Moray."
Ms Sneddon and Mr Gasgarth worked closely with participants to create their own playlist for the silent disco.
The key, the pointed out, was finding music that resonated strongly with them.
In turn, they said this encouraged them to get as much out of the session as possible.
