There’s a sharp waft of hairspray in the air and excited chatter as tight curls are carefully teased into place with a comb.
Getting ready is clearly taken seriously, with only the best clothes selected for the occasion.
The group slowly make their way through to the dining hall, where tables have been pushed to one side and the music is already playing.
The smooth crooning of Perry Como echoes from a speaker, and Ann Cowley gets to her feet.
Arms in the air, she starts to dance; her face creasing into a smile.
The pom-poms on her pale pink slippers seem to move to the beat as she kicks out her legs, completely lost in the moment.
The final notes are fading away, but Ann is still gently twirling around the room. Eyes closed, she is no longer 94 years old, or a resident at Whinnieknowe Care Home.
She is a young girl in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) and is enjoying a night at the dance hall – in a bid to briefly forget the backdrop of the war.
The music ends and Ann blinks, before gingerly walking back to her seat.
“My legs don’t work quite so well anymore,” she says, although she is surprisingly sprightly.
There’s not a spare seat to be had, as Ruby Worth starts the session.
The dance practitioner makes the journey from Eden Court in Inverness to Whinnieknowe Care Home in Nairn every Monday, where a rather special project has been running since January.
In Your Shoes is currently taking place in Nairn, Thurso, Aviemore and Tain – where people come together across the generations to share their stories through the medium of dance. Pupils at Nairn Academy are all set to visit residents at Whinnieknowe once prelims are out of the way – and the residents have already been enjoying sessions with Ruby.
“You’ve got a big bow on your head,” exclaims Ann, motioning to Ruby’s bright purple headband, which has indeed been fashioned into a large bow.
“I like my bow,” says Ruby, clearly trying not to laugh.
“It keeps me present.”
And with that, she starts to dance to Doris Day and the heady lyrics of Que Sera, Sera.
Ruby’s energy is infectious and she greets each resident in turn.
Their voices blend in recognition with the lyrics, memories unfurled with each note.
Some of the participants have varying stages of dementia, but come to life as the session unfolds.
The edges of a colourful parachute are carefully placed in people’s hands, before the group lifts it up and down as a ball bounces across.
Then it’s on to dancing with ribbons and shaking musical eggs, before the hour ends with Caledonia.
It is clear that the project is of huge importance, both to the residents and dedicated staff who join in.
Activities co-ordinator Sarah Coulson has been instrumental in cross-generational work at Whinnieknowe, after taking up the post in 2017.
“I was new to the job, and I remember thinking to myself, what would my own grandparents like?” says Sarah.
“They would love to see children, so I asked my sister-in-law to come in with her wee ones.
“The residents loved it. One of the amazing things about children is that they are so accepting.
“And they’re just so much fun of course.
“Then I put out a post on social media asking if youngsters would like to come in.
“My phone just went crazy, we were inundated with offers.
“So Junior World comes in now and they do things like crafts and storytime.
“It really brings our residents alive, you can see a change almost instantly.
“One resident called Marg has formed a very special relationship with a little girl, who makes a beeline for her each session.
“In Your Shoes has really brought people together, as we’ve been able to find out what dance has meant to our residents.
“It has encouraged some amazing stories to come out, particularly from residents who might have felt inhibited.
“I remember thinking to myself, I didn’t want to get too hopeful that people would come.
“There are 22 residents at Whinnieknowe and around 16 of them turn up each week.
“It’s just fantastic.”
Although some participants may not be as physically able as Ann, that doesn’t stop them from enjoying themselves.
Ann dances over to Ron and holds his hands, eager to strike up a partnership as they may well have done in the dance halls of their youth.
Dressed in a smart shirt and with his hair combed to the side, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Ron MacKenzie is perhaps in his 70s or 80s.
He is in fact 100 years old and returned to Scotland from Canada at the grand age of 99.
“Scotland is my home, there’s nothing like the homeland when you lose everybody, nothing like the place you were born,” says Ron.
When asked his age, he quips that he is 22, and tells me he has danced all his life.
“It was mostly Scottish dancing. After I emigrated to Canada I did Highland dancing and I played the accordion in a pipe band,” he says.
“I went to all the dances that were on. I lived in Canada for 60 years.”
Aside from his love of dancing, Ron has a poignant story, the majority of which has remained untold.
“I’ve never really talked about this much,” he says.
“I was a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II.
“I was taken prisoner after landing in Singapore, so we never actually fought.
“We didn’t have a clue what was going on.”
Ron was held for three-and-a-half years, one of 50,000 servicemen to experience extreme cruelty in the camps.
From malnutrition to disease and brutal beatings, around one quarter of prisoners died in captivity.
To meet Ron today is to have no inkling of the horrors he may have endured.
But through dance, his story is slowly unravelling with each passing week.
So too is the wonderful past of Sally Fallon, who attends with her daughter.
Sitting in her lap is a photo album, where black-and-white pictures show a glamorous woman wearing a sequin dress.
“That’s me,” she says, slowly flicking through the pages.
“I am 83 now, but I used to be a showgirl.
“I performed in amateur shows in London.
“You had to audition, it was more singing than dancing.
“I can’t sing anymore, my voice has gone.
“My husband used to do the scenery. I loved singing.”
Every single participant has a story, from Norma who used to dance at Scone Palace, to Paddy who struggles with vision but still loves taking part.
For Ruby, leading the sessions is an honour.
“I come from a theatre background, then I went into community theatre,” she says.
“I worked with professional dancers when I lived in Edinburgh, before deciding to come home and work with community groups.
“I grew up in Findhorn and took a course in dance movement therapy.
“This is a way of looking at movement and dance, it’s connection to our emotional and mental wellbeing.
“I love coming to Whinnieknowe because there is so much joy.
“You see it radiating from their eyes and I get to know each person, their character.
“It’s this connection, it’s what everyone talks about at the end of the session.
“Obviously some participants can have moments in themselves where they might feel a bit foggy.
“In Your Shoes is a way to stimulate connection through movement and story telling.
“I think it can empower people and music is a big part of that.”
Ruby spent a lot of time researching different genres and has settled on a combination of Scottish music and tracks from the 1940s and the 1950s.
“I think Scottish music can give you the sense of culture and connection,” explains Ruby.
“It speaks to people’s senses, to their feelings of belonging and memory
“Once upon a time, these people would have whirled around the floor at a ceilidh.
“There are moments which hit a deeper note, because you realise both the physical and mental vulnerability.
“At the end of our last session, Ann turned to me and said ‘I don’t know if I will be here next week’.
“She meant it literally and you think to yourself, will this be my last dance with you?
“It’s also a reminder of age, of growing older and the vulnerability that can accompany that.
“I hope that art practitioners coming into these kinds of settings might be common in the future.
“It’s a privilege to be part of this.”
