Bradford Belles, launched in 2019 and affectionately referred to in house as the "the Belles", brings older women together to build self-esteem, confidence and friendship across boundaries of community and background. We use creative performance techniques as tools to improve physical and mental health and encourage participants to celebrate older life in the fast lane! In fact our first performance at Mirfield Carnival took place within a few months of our launch and we have been dancing up a storm and pleasing crowds with our walkabout interactions and humour at local events and festivals ever since.

 

 

With weekly sessions exploring dance, comedy, theatre, character development and arts we work towards riotous and joyful community street performances where each woman can truly be themselves or perhaps step outside their comfort zone and be someone else entire!y!

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Following a cracking start the pandemic curtailed our activities but we kept the momentum going with lots of WhatsApp chat, online sessions and the occasional meet up outdoors when possible.

 

 

The project came about through conversations between five older women working with arts and communities. We were either retired or approaching retirement age and felt we were losing the identity that working life had given us and had experienced negative feelings in response. Whilst older men are often revered, older women tend to be forgotten. We put out feelers through social media and got an overwhelming response. We now boast a substantial collective of older women who attend our weekly sessions and regularly perform. 

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The group is open to older women who want to get involved and we lead weekly 2-hour sessions at a community centre in Shipley. We ensure that anyone, whoever they are, can take part by including a mixture of activities in every session. There's always a warm welcome, the kettle within reach and lots of laughter along the way.

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In the long run BBs aim to be self-sustaining through commissions, performance fees and donations. The group now runs independently as a CIC.