A TASTE of Bollywood magic delighted a talented dancer and her fellow residents at a Winchester dementia care home.

St Catherines View resident Nalini Bhagwat asked staff at the Colton Care home if they could make her New Year wish come true to revisit some Bollywood dance moves.

Companionship team leader Laura Sheldrake used social media to invite any Bollywood practitioners in the community to make contact if they wanted to dance with Nalini, with the call being answered by dance teacher and University of Winchester business student Vaishnavi Singh.

A visit was swiftly arranged, taking place on Friday, January 27, and there was great excitement on the day, with Nalini having her hair done and being dressed in her own pink salwar kurta.

Laura said: “When Vaishnavi started dancing and showing her skills, Nalini didn’t take long at all to get up from her chair to dance along. She had been so excited ahead of the visit.

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“She is always dancing and trying to teach us Bollywood moves so it was great to give her the opportunity to get up and dance with someone who, like her, dances authentic Bollywood.

“They both looked amazing and danced to so many songs together. Vaishnavi was so good with Nalini, letting her lead on most of the dances and joining in with her.”

Vaishnavi, who has previously given dance tuition to children, said: “It was a pleasure to offer my help to make Nalini’s wish come true. She is a fantastic dancer and we both had so much fun. I really enjoyed getting to know her and talk about our culture.”

Although born in Kenya, Nalini spent most of her early years in Pune in the Marathi-speaking Indian state of Maharashtra and learned classical Indian dancing as a child.

Speaking after the session, Nalini said: “Wow, this was all for me? It is so nice to dance with someone from India like me. I’m a little tired, but it was so much fun.”

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Laura now plans on arranging for Vaishnavi to come in every few months to dance with Nalini, saying: “We are so thankful Vaishnavi reached out. She really made Nalini’s wish come true and the other residents absolutely loved it. Some of the staff and residents who were watching even got up and joined in with the pair of them.”

She continued: “It was a joy and privilege to help make Nalini’s dream come true. The visit was a chance for her to reminisce about dancing days gone by.

“We find that the freedom of movement in dance can improve residents’ moods and is good for physical wellbeing. This was an afternoon full of expression, smiles and laughs.”