Stockport’s ever popular Dementia Disco, music to inspire memory, friendship and conversation. Video funded by Dementia United's Big Brain Health Fund.

The Dementia Disco was already running very successfully in Cheadle, Stockport when the founders applied to our Big Brain Health Fund, to set up a second disco in Heaton Mersey, Stockport.

Music is the main focus of the Dementia Disco. Their mission is to use the power of music to inspire memory, conversation and friendship. They have created a Dementia Disco playlist which has been partly put together by the requests made by the people who attend the disco. People are encouraged to talk about music and how it has impacted their lives; what was the first dance at their wedding, their favourite song or band, the first gig they went to and all the other ways music has impacted their lives.

I started working with people living with dementia because my dad had Alzheimer’s, and my sister and I were taking him to dementia groups and there wasn’t anything he was really interested in. He loved music but the music he loved was Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones and none of those groups were playing that kind of music. We set up Dementia Disco and we found that there were a lot of younger people living with dementia that were interested in that kind of music and it seemed to really resonate with people.Nick Shaw, Founder, Dementia Disco

There’s a wealth of evidence to support the idea that music can have a positive impact on people’s mental health. According to Dementia UK music can improve ‘attention and concentration, cognition (thinking), memory and speech and non-verbal communication skills. All of these processes can be impaired by dementia, making music extremely beneficial for people with living with dementia.’

As well as the health benefits, it’s easy to see why the Dementia Disco is valued so much by everyone who attends.

The Dementia Disco is a real lifeline for us as a family. Its somewhere we can enjoy dance, music, the warmth of other people who are going through a similar situation and there’s that empathy and understanding.

More information about the Dementia Discos and their fabulous work can be found here www.dementiadisco.org/