Care home hosts pole dancing masterclass

Parkfield Grange A woman with styled blonde hair, wearing a floral blouse and grey cardigan is standing with three female dancers next to a pole.Parkfield Grange
Resident Janet Garlick, 85, said Pole Finesse dancers, Jayne Stevens, Kim Matthews and Lucy Summers were 'fabulous'

Elderly residents of a care home have enjoyed a pole dancing demonstration from a dance group.

Parkfield Grange in Stourbridge hosted the masterclass from Pole Finesse of Bromsgrove on Wednesday 4 December.

Thirty residents, family members and staff watched a "celebration of dance" and said they were "wowed" by the athleticism of the team.

An 85-year-old resident called the performance "fabulous" and said she was impressed by dancers' skill set.

Emily Hocking, home admissions adviser at Parkfield, said the session came about after residents asked her what she did in her spare time.

She told BBC Radio WM: "Residents always want to know what staff do in their downtime.

"I'm part of the Pole Finesse group fitness session twice a week and they wanted to know more.

Residents of the Stourbridge home described it as 'more interesting than knitting'.

"When we were looking at putting on a celebration of dance, our mother group Cinnamon Care, put on an initiative.

"When we asked residents they all said absolutely yes."

Ms Hocking said 70% of the residents were in attendance and while family members were not initially sure, "they soon enjoyed the performance".

Care home resident, Janet Garlick said: "The performances were fabulous, I was very impressed with how skilful the girls were and how beautifully they performed."

Ms Hocking added: "Pole dancing skills are incredibly impressive, and our residents were wowed by the athleticism of the team from Pole Finnesse.

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