During 2017 Beatrice Allegranti Dance Theatre created bespoke Participatory Dances for people living with Young Onset Dementia and their families. This Dance Theatre Work emerges from the relationships forged and stories shared.

'This fulfilling project has enriched perceptions and ways of relating for everyone taking part. It has also changed me and the professional dancers and the composer working with me – it has changed how we understand what it means to be human. We have learned that the autobiographical dementia stories emerging from this project chime with wider existential issues: loss (of self; language; identity); fractured intimacy; the ethics of caring for self-other. Although challenging to engage with at times, by bearing witness to people's stories, creating dance for and with them - we were able to find an ‘embodied kinship' that allowed for the ineffable experiences of dementia to be collectively shared'.

Beatrice Allegranti, October 2017

Beatrice Allegranti is a choreographer, filmmaker, UKCP Reg. dance movement psychotherapist, feminist researcher, writer and educator. For over two decades her rich interdisciplinary experience spans across health (NHS Mental Health and dementia services; young people with learning disabilities; international Palestinian and Israeli creative conflict resolution for young people), education (lecturing and researching across UK and international universities), science (collaborations within neuroscience and evolutionary biology) and the arts (ten commissioned ensemble and solo works and ten dance films - all of which have toured internationally).

Choreography: Beatrice Allegranti in collaboration with:

Dancers: Luke Birch, Sabria Gargano/Maria Palliano, Takeshi Matsumoto, Aneta Zwierznyska

Composer: Jill Halstead

The evening bill includes:

Several short films about experiences of dementia: 6pm

Pre-Performance Participatory Dance Workshop: 7:00pm

Dance Theatre Performance: 7:30pm

Audience discussion and Q & A: 8pm

More project details: www.beatriceallegranti.com/blog

Twitter: @ballegranti

Enquiries: beatriceallegrantidancetheatre@gmail.com