Dance classes brings 'joy' to cancer patients and sick children in hospital

Dance classes have brought "joy" to cancer patients and children at a hospital in Bedfordshire.

Sadie Hunt and Jenny Howells have been delivering Dance for Health sessions at Bedford Hospital since early 2025, bringing movement and music to patients on the wards.

The initiative began as a trial programme on two wards caring for elderly patients with frailty conditions.

The project is set to grow significantly, with a 30-week programme in the pipeline that will extend its reach to young patients and those receiving cancer treatment.

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Ms Hunt, a freelance practitioner who leads the sessions, described the work as "the best job in the world".

The programme has secured funding on four separate occasions, receiving support from Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Charity, Sport England, and Friends of Bedford Hospital.

She said the team is particularly thrilled about the upcoming expansion to paediatric patients.

Ms Hunt emphasised the sessions work around clinical needs, noting staff report patients are in better spirits and more cooperative after the dancing concludes.

Initial reluctance from patients often melts away once others begin participating, with Ms Hunt observing nearly everyone eventually joins in.

"I thought I was going to be really embarrassed, but I wasn't I absolutely loved it," one female patient said.

Others have described the experience as "very worthwhile" and left them feeling "totally uplifted".

One participant remarked: "This is the first time I have felt like myself since I have been here. We need this every day."

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The sessions incorporate substantial upper body movement, with some participants reporting their shoulders feel noticeably lower afterwards and their range of motion has improved.

Ms Hunt explained the approach centres on relaxation, enjoyment, releasing muscular tension, and creating shared experiences among patients in the same bay.

"I think it just shifts the ward from feeling like a very clinical space into feeling like a more human and artistic space," she told the BBC.

Ms Howells, 35, has witnessed tangible physical improvements in participants, with patients telling her their pain diminished or disappeared entirely during the dancing and their joints felt more supple.

The brief sessions of fifteen to thirty minutes with music provide a welcome distraction for those who are unwell, bored and frustrated by their hospital stay.

Several patients have noted the entire atmosphere of the ward feels transformed following the sessions, according to Ms Howells, who described her involvement as a "huge privilege".

She said she valued witnessing how dance and creative arts can support physical wellbeing while simultaneously boosting mood and fostering a sense of community among patients.

Keely Birch, the hospital's prevention of deconditioning lead, acknowledged the extended hospital admissions can significantly affect patients' mental health, leading to boredom, feelings of isolation and low moods.

"This project has shown that creative health has a well-deserved place in the acute setting, with patients who have taken part reporting they feel it has value as part of their hospital stay," Ms Birch said.

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