Health & Lifestyle | Posted on April 23rd, 2025 | return to news
Ballet-loving Ferndown care home resident fulfils a dream
Claire, who lives at Kings Park Care Home and has a lifelong love of dance, enjoyed a performance at Bournemouth Pavilion recently.

A Ferndown care home resident with a lifelong love of dance has had the chance to attend a performance featuring a mix of styles including tap and ballet.
Claire, who lives at Kings Park Care Home, began ballet dancing as a child and quickly found herself performing on stage. “I wouldn’t do anything else,” she recalled with a smile. That early passion turned into a remarkable career in teaching.
For 30 years, Claire ran her own dance school in Cockfosters, teaching ballet to children and adults alike. Her dedication and talent left a lasting impact, with some of her students going on to perform in the prestigious Royal Ballet.
When Claire moved to Dorset, she continued sharing her expertise and love of dance. She taught ballroom and sequence dancing in various locations including Parkstone, Highcliffe, and Bournemouth, for another two decades.
Barchester Healthcare runs Kings Park Care Home and the team arranged for Claire to attend ‘Inspirations’, a local dance performance featuring a mix of styles including tap, ballet, and modern dance.
Claire was treated to a front row, bird’s-eye view of the entire show at Bournemouth Pavilion. She was absolutely mesmerised, especially by the youngest ballerinas, some just four or five years old. “They were adorable,” she said.
The icing on the cake came after the performance when the show organisers arranged for Claire to meet two of the young ballerinas, Fifi and Lydia-Rose and have a photograph taken with them.
On the way home, Claire couldn’t stop smiling. “I’ve had such an amazing time,” she said.
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