Life and adventures continue to open up, even when you’re ninety. Along with the quote above, here’s what The Australian has to say about ageing creatively, passionately, and with great purpose. This article has been in my mind throughout my week in Brisbane, where I met all kinds of people, and visited all kinds of projects.
I joined ACT’s (Ageing Creatively Through Dance) two-hour contemporary dance class for seniors and was utterly inspired by the lithe and graceful bodies that shone and spun around me. I may quit writing and become a dancer.
By Brisbane River, I chatted about clowning in aged care facilities, and training programmes to encourage nurses to don red noses and roll on the floor, led by the formidable Clark Crystal of The Lamingtons.
With Neal Price, who runs the Creative Ageing Centre, I had an amazing cup of coffee (do Australians ever serve it badly?!) and an amazing conversation. Neal makes stories with and from communities, including those in aged care facilities. He talked beautifully about how chronic illness and dementia don’t diminish the person. How artists and care staff have a role in ensuring older people are treated as individuals. Because, regardless of how it seems, the person is still present.
writers meet elders 