Congratulations to Sian Stevenson and Moving Memory Dance Theatre Company who have been awarded funding from the Nominet Trust to develop ‘Digital Doris’ – a portable digital ‘kit’ which helps give older people the freedom to express themselves through movement and dance.
The Moving Memory Dance Theatre Company developed Digital Doris to overcome the challenges older people face during movement-based workshops held in residential care homes and day care centres. These included physical limitations, like short-term memory loss and mobility problems, plus the venues’ limited space.
Digital Doris uses Resolume software which projects digital images into any area. It can be used to demonstrate warm-up exercises, remind older people where they are in an activity, and provide an extra point of reference for their movements.
The images can be human-like to teach people basic moves, or abstract to inspire new ways of moving and improvising.
Through this digital technology Doris can transform everyday spaces into creative places in which older people can play and dance. It also encourages creative collaboration between older people and Moving Memory members while providing participants with a sense of artistic ownership.
Nominet Trust is funding this project to introduce Digital Doris to older people around the UK. This means more older people can become involved in dance, free their imaginations and challenge people’s perceptions of what aging looks like.