Midlife Movers perfect their steps ahead of taking to the stage in Dreamland

KentOnline / KMTV

The Baton of Hope is set to tour Kent and Medway, bringing together charities, communities, and individuals affected by suicide. One local dance group is preparing to perform at the event’s finale of hope.  Daisy Page reports.

Transcript

00:00Flooding to the dance floor to groove the night away, the midlife movers are practicing their

00:15next steps for their next stage. The group originally started in 2022 as a dance class

00:21for people over the age of 40 years old and has grown to all across East Kent and has since

00:26become much more than choreography but community. Groups of people have met and made friends and they

00:32go out and we appear to be supporting many many issues because I know that the upper age bracket

00:41are very very complex and that can be anything from feeling lonely because they've lost loved

00:50ones. They're grieving, there's mental health issues, there's sometimes grave illnesses and

00:57of course the mental health umbrella is huge. It's connecting people and giving a lot of

01:06people a purpose. But their latest dance aims to raise awareness of suicide prevention.

01:13Perfecting their routine before performing at Dreamland this September where they'll be

01:18performing at the Evening of Hope which will mark the end to the event of the Battle of Hope's

01:22first ever visit to Kent and Medway. Making its way from Medway through Maystone and Canterbury

01:27before finishing the day at Margate. It will be carried by bearers who all have their own personal

01:33stories. I mean this means a lot to me because in the late 60s I lost my dad to suicide and it was

01:42in the 60s it was a taboo subject. Couldn't talk about it. Yeah and it's very dear to my heart so

01:50I'll be doing this one for my dad. The baton is a physical symbol of the work the charity is doing

01:56to boost conversations around mental health and saving lives. But in the lead up to the 22nd of

02:02September the mid-life movers will keep practicing their steps ahead of the day.

02:10Daisy Page for KMTV in Sandwich. If you've been affected by the issues raised in this report

02:17the Samaritans can be reached on 116 123.

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