Seven! Bracknell care home hosts extra special dancing event

The team from a care home in Bracknell organised an extra special wish for a resident. 

Gerald White, a resident at Care UK’s Bickerton House, on Warfield Road, was excited to find that the team had organised his very own Strictly Come Dancing inspired competition.

The team at Bickerton House have a ‘Wishing Tree’ initiative, which allows residents to suggest ideas for new hobbies they’d like to try, places they’d like to visit or even activities linked to past careers. This encourages residents to live fulfilling lives – from skiing to a fish and chip supper, no wish is too big or small.

The team knew that it was Gerald’s wish, who was once a professional dancer, to dance in a competition again so they organised the special surprise for him. 

Gerald has danced all around the world, including in San Francisco, and the home team decorated the space with photos from his dancing days in gold frames for the special occasion. 

 

The home also hung mirrored disco balls, giant mirror ball helium balloons and velvet draping, to create a Strictly inspired space. 

Team members and residents dressed up for the occasion and enjoyed taking part in the competition, which included a dance tutorial by local dance teacher, Lynda Lunn, while resident Jen Shaw, aged 74, and two team members judged the show, using scoring cards, just like in the television show.

At the end of the competition, winners were chosen - including Gerald for his Waltz. 

Commenting on the event, resident Jen  said: “I judged and danced in the event and enjoyed it. My favourite dance is the Ceroc combination of rock & roll and salsa.” 

Erika Smith, Home Manager at Bickerton House, said: “We were thrilled to help Gerald complete his wish to dance again and host a Strictly themed event.

“Many of the residents enjoyed dancing in their younger years, including Gerald, and like watching the show, so we wanted to organise something that everyone would enjoy. Gerald taught us some fantastic dance moves including the box step.

“I would like to thank the team for all the hard work they put in to making sure this event was ‘on pointe’ and a complete success. All there is left to say is ‘keep dancing’!” 

Bickerton House has been designed to encourage residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while remaining as independent as possible in a safe environment. The state-of-the-art care home provides full-time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, and features a bar and café, cinema, hair salon, activities room and garden.

To find out more about Bickerton House, please contact Customer Relations Manager at Bickerton House, Jo Anderson, on Jo.Anderson@careuk.com or call 01344 989943, or visit careuk.com/ bickerton-house.