Western Australia News Update – October 2026

WA Newsflashes……

Silver Chain Dementia Champions – September 9

Lifespan Dance was invited to the special gathering of four Silver Chain Centres at Bibra Lake Community Centre. We were delighted to be able to bring our dance skills for staff and residents and bus-drivers to share and enjoy! Thank you Mandy and Silver Chain, and congratulations on an extremely successful day!

  

Photos: Mandy – Silver Chain

Parkinson’s WA – Walk in the Park – September 13

This was a huge success this year with a record number of 500 registration and generous donations. For the 10th time in a row Lifespan Dance were invited to lead the warm-up, which was a delight indeed! I was joined by Ella and Cheryl (a fabulous pas de trois) and together we were able to help everyone move and stretch the lower leg muscles, and prepare walkers for a successful walk! Congratulations to the PWA Team.

Photos: Parkinsons WA

 

WA Ballet – Community Dress Rehearsal – MacBeth – His Majesty’s

We are so proud to be connected to the WA Ballet. As well as weekly classes in their beautiful studios, we are invited to attend performances. On September 3rd, 27 Lifespanners were able to attend the Community Dress Rehearsal of MacBeth. Thank you to April, Oliver and Access staff – you go above and beyond to make us feel welcome. The dance, the music, the theatre and the whole performance was spoken about in such delight hereafter – such a terrific way for us to stay connected to WA’s professional ballet company.

Photo: April – WA Ballet

AusArt Day – October 22nd 2026

We are delighted to be part of the national AusArt day, and will launch our 2027 Program fundraising campaign. With the support of Australian Cultural Fund (ACF) and our generous donors from across the country, we have maintained Artistic Programs for the last four years offering community classes, outreach classes, regional tours, mentoring, internships, new choreographic work, dance-film and performance opportunities. In 2027 we add an interstate performance in Sydney (January) to the program. Your donation is tax deductible and goes directly towards the Lifespan dance programs. If you would like to donate to the campaign – please click on the link here –https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000kdJLp/lifespan-dance-2027-artistic-program.

Seniors Week (WA) – November 10 – 17 2026

We love sharing dance in Seniors Week in WA! There are multiple Lifespan classes on offer throughout the week. Bookings are essential!

• Willetton Rostrata Family Centre – Monday November 9 – 10 – 11am – BOOKED OUT
• Carine Opalcare – closed session
• WA Ballet Studios – TuesdayNovember 10 – 1 – 2pm 
• Koorliny Arts Centre – Wednesday November 11 – 10 – 11am – Come & Watch Class & includes morning tea afterwards 
• Alchera Living – closed session
• Dalkeith Hall – Friday November 1 – 11 – 12noon 

Regional WA Touring – April 2027

Planning for the Regional WA Tour(April 10-18) have begun. We will be touring Perth to Albany leading Seated Dance classes with communities along the way. If you are based in the Peel, Southwest and Great Southern regions of WA and are interested to have/attend a class in your town and with your organisation, please reply to this email.

National Touring – January 2027

Lifespan Dance has been invited to perform ‘WHORL’ as part of the RAD Elevate Conference in Sydney, January 16-17, 2027. We will be seeking funds to bring dance artists from Perth – if you have been involved in previous performances of WHORL and would like to be considered to be part of the performances, please reply email. More information to come in the next (Bunuru) e-newsletter!

T-shirts 

We recently received news and photo of Lifespan dancer/volunteer/supporter Jac, wearing a T-shirt while dancing in a class led by Dame Darcy Bussell, in a chateau in France! Wonderful!

You never know where the Lifespan T’s will appear. Make sure you have yours! A new order of t-shirts (black & white) are in, so please let us know if you would like one ($20).

So far in 2026, Lifespan Dance provides dance classes to 171 people per week (average) through the delivery of our dance and health programs. Ausdance WA has shone a ‘Spotlight’ on Lifespan Dance in the recent July newsletter! Thank you Amy, Gary and the Ausdance WA team – https://www.ausdancewa.org.au

Lifespan Dance has received a second grant from the City of Canning Community Development Round, which provides the studio space (Rostrata Centre) for the Willetton classes, and we are delighted! And in more funding news for Willetton classes, we can announce a boost from our philanthropic donors John & Shelly Thompson to specifically support the teaching dance artist to lead ongoing classes. Thank you Shelley & John .  https://www.canning.wa.gov.au/events/lifespan-seated-dance-classes/

A wonderful meeting with Tanya, Coordinator/Physiotherapist at Osborne Park Hospital Parkinson’s Clinic – leading to a lovely conversation and an information exchange about movement, music, classes and future-focussed dance projects. Let’s stay in touch!

Community Classes

Term 3 classes are in full swing at Willetton, Maylands, Kwinana and Dalkeith.

We are committed to a two-teacher model in our Community Classes, which is a strong feature of the Dance for Parkinson’s classes and sustains a supported community of practice. The ongoing work of Lifespan Dance Community Classes happens due to the commitment and skills of fellow dance artists – Ella, Liz, Christine – and our superb volunteers – Cheryl, Kaitlyn and Jac. Together, we share professional knowledge, experiential learnings and workings in our dance/health space.  Our high quality community classes would not be possible without these wonder-women!

Community class with teaching artist Ella, Liz, Christine, and superb volunteer Cheryl, Kaitly, and Jac. Photo Credit- Alex K

Outreach Classes

Our outreach classes extend north, south, east and west.  The ‘compass’ of Outreach classes across Makuru has included Halls Head, Bellevue, Cottlesloe and Kinross.  We enjoy leading outreach classes in a variety of spaces and locations in aged care, independent living, cancer support groups, dementia groups and within wellbeing/health programs. We liaise with Wellbeing and Lifestyle Coordinators to better understand needs and circumstances, and we enjoy teaching familiar and new participating dancers. As the ‘preferred provider’ of dance classes in aged care, we continue to receive numerous requests for classes, demonstrations and as guest speakers. Please note bookings for 2027 will open in October.

‘Mercy Place’ Art Piece. Photo Credit: Paige G

New Short Film 

Working with videographer Lee Kennedy, Lifespan have created a (very very short 2minute) short film titled “threads”.  It is a short and beautiful black and white film set to music created by Louis Frere-Harvey and featuring some of the dancer from our classes. We are looking to screen it in some local, national and international short-film festivals. If you are interested in seeing the film, please email directly.

Still image from ‘Threads’ film

Dance for PD Australia Training  

Each year Lifespan Dance contributes towards WA-based dance artist to undertake the Dance for PD Australia training. Kaitlyn Abrams has recently completed her DP training, and is now being mentored to teacher-readiness. Kaitlyn has been extraordinarily generous in volunteering time over the last year, learning from the teachers and dancers, and it is a thrill to see her move into a Lead Teacher role in the coming months. We welcome you to the team Kaitlyn!

New Seated Dance Performance – Research & Development of ‘Weathering’

As part of a recent PhD research at WAAPA ECU, alongside 23 dancers, we were able to share a ‘draft’ version of a new seated dance performance, titled Weathering – with an invited audience. This work will be the third in a triptych of seated dance performances that Paige Gordon has choreographed in recent years – together with Wingspan and Whorl – and will be performed publicly at a later date.

Still image from the ‘draft’ version of a new seated dance performance – Weathering.

Stay well. All movement matters!