Earlier this year, Yorkshire Dance appointed Teresa Domene as our first Older People’s Ambassador to represent activity with older adults and to bring life-expertise to the strategic development of our work with older adults.

Teresa is a retired schoolteacher whose adventurous spirit has seen her travel and live in many different countries. She volunteers at Leeds Grand Theatre, takes part in theatre and dance projects and was an active participant in the Young at Arts steering group. Teresa was appointed as a Trustee for Yorkshire Dance between 2020 and 2022.

We recently spoke to Teresa to find out more about her new role.

How did you first get involved with Yorkshire Dance?

My daughter taught at Yorkshire Dance and so I got involved with the classes and projects. I was invited to become a Trustee a few years ago which is when I started to get more involved with the behind-the-scenes.

What have you got up to so far in your role?

I’ve been attending Dance On classes where I’ve talked to people in the classes to find out why they attend and have distributed leaflets to community hubs. I have attended meetings with the Dance On team as well as events with Leeds Older People’s Forum.

What has been a highlight of being in the role?

When the Dance On programme hosted Boogie Wonderland at Leeds Playhouse in April this year! Dance On groups from across Leeds and Bradford come along to perform, socialise and dance the afternoon away at a 70s inspired disco. I really enjoyed it!

Read more about Boogie Wonderland, here.

Why do you think an Older People’s Ambassador is important?

I think older people sometimes get pushed to the side and so to get them directly involved in the coordination of projects is good news! If I can help to do that in any way then I will be very happy.

What do you hope to get out of being the first Older People’s Ambassador?

I really hope that I can just enjoy taking part as well as meeting people, getting them involved and seeing them enjoy themselves.

To find out more about our work with older people, please contact Hannah Treharne: hannahtreharne@yorkshiredance.com / 0113 243 9867 or visit our Dance On page.