There was a real concert/session atmosphere, everyone seemed to be enjoying it and having a good time.
One woman with early onset dementia was up dancing and doing high kicks.
The residents were shouting ‘yeow’ a lot, and one person said ‘lovely, lovely, g’wan'
Data was captured by observation, in photograph, video, sound and in written reflections. Throughout each session the residents responded to the music and the rhythm as they could, clapping and tapping; many joined in with the singing and some danced with Vivian. The feeling in the room changed significantly from the first session to the last.
The cumulative impact of the four sessions over time appears to support research that suggests that individual health and wellbeing indicators, for people with no regular access to arts experiences, improve almost exponentially across the first three consecutive events (Sacco et. al. 2011). The Rí Rá Sessions appear to support Sacco’s conclusions as by the last session everybody – artists, residents, and staff – had taken ownership of the event and the sense of anticipation, fun, and joy was palpable in the smiles, the greetings, the handholding, and the general atmosphere. It should be borne in mind that Sacco’s research also suggests that indcators quickly decline if the exposure is not consistent and maintained.
Many of the residents were clapping their hands and tapping their feet.
There was love and admiration in a man’s eyes when Irene was dancing.
One man looked self-conscious when Vivian began to dance with him, but then that feeling of shyness seemed to melt away from him and it became this gorgeous moment where he was moving and enjoying and connecting
Staff members sat with the residents and enjoyed the music together. The staff reported finding out personal details about the residents through these sessions, as the music generated memories and brought up stories from the past. Many other staff members crowded around the doorways to watch and listen, talking about the music and the dancers, and talking about how the residents were enjoying it. Other staff members joined in the dancing…
…the staff were there to greet us. A woman called Anita was very attentive. It felt like the staff were really on board, and very welcoming. They provided bottles of water for the band and the dancers. One said as she was passing the room ‘this brightens the place up’.
Over the course of the events residents invited several family members to the sessions, and they got to enjoy the music and dance together, to make new memories. Some short term stay residents delayed their departure so they wouldn’t miss the gigs, or asked to be discharged after the last one was complete.
When the music started, the residents came flocking
One man asked for Boolavogue – he knew all the words and many of the residents joined in.
A resident said – ‘this is great, couldn’t be better’.
The most frequent image from the sessions is connection: so many hands were held, so many memories were conjured, so many stories were shared. Residents shared stories of how they played accordion or mouth organ.
Vivian danced with one man who was enjoying the session a lot. He couldn’t hold himself back from singing and moving. He couldn’t stand up, but she held his arms and moved them gently about. He was having a great time, but it took a lot out of him. He needed to be connected to his breathing apparatus afterwards, and took a little break out of the room. He came back in when he was feeling better and continued to have a great time, singing and clapping along.
One man kept shouting ‘more, more!
Many of the residents were smiling a lot.
Perhaps the most valuble insight into the value of this work came from a staff member who reminded us that
We have to remember that this is their home now
“When Irene was dancing the brush dance I was struck by the domestic origins of the set dancing, and thinking that it felt significant that through the Irish music and dance we were connecting the residents with a cultural and creative aspect of domesticity in the place that they now live”.
Evaluation conducted and compiled by John O’Brien https://johnobrien.org/