Outcry at pole-dance show in care home
A CARE home has come under fire for providing pole-dancing displays to entertain residents.
Bosses at Fairmile Grange have defended the show, saying the elderly residents, many of whom have dementia, wanted “something a bit different”.
Six scantily clad women took part in the performance, backed by music from the 1950s and 1960s, after installing a metal pole in the communal lounge.
A video of the event shows a young woman in a skin-coloured bikini doing acrobatic manoeuvres as residents watch.
The home says the show received an “overwhelmingly positive” reception. But councillors in Christchurch, Dorset, have criticised the move.
Different
Peter Hall said: “My view is that it is inappropriate for a care home. It’s not really the sort of entertainment I would have thought that the residents wanted or would have encouraged.”
Fellow councillor Denise Jones said: “While I am always delighted to see the horizons of older people widened, I am not sure that includes pole-dancing.”
Katie Henry, owner of Poolebased Pole Dance Factory, which provided the performers, said pole-dancing was “just another form of entertainment” and the care home “wanted something a bit different”. She said: “Poledancing is a very popular sport which gives participants confidence. There are different styles but the style performed at Fairmile Grange was gymnastic.”
The 80-bed home offers specialist nursing and dementia care. It also provides more traditional activities such as gardening, art and crafts.
Izzy Nicholls, of Encore Care Homes, which runs Fairmile Grange, said: “Relatives and residents requested more modernstyle activities. Residents were given several choices and specifically chose for a local pole-dancing company to perform.
“This performance sport combines dance and acrobatics, requiring great physical strength and endurance. We are proud to challenge stereotypes and will continually offer our residents the choice to experience appropriate new and progressive activities.”