Leading Australian home care provider Care Connect is proud to support Melbourne Fringe Festival’s presentation of FreeSteps – Swinging Years, an international dance work featuring 59 dancers over the age of 60.
Created by acclaimed Taiwanese choreographer Wei-Chia Su, FreeSteps – Swinging Years is a captivating dance piece celebrating the beauty and resilience of the ageing body. Developed in collaboration with a cast of local dancers, the performance explores how movement, music, and memory intertwine to pay homage to the richness of life through decades of lived experience.
Care Connect CEO, Lynda Chalmers, said the partnership reflects the organisation’s commitment to helping older Australians age on their own terms, and aims to highlight the power of movement and connection in supporting wellbeing in later life.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Melbourne Fringe Festival to bring FreeSteps – Swinging Years to Melbourne this year,” Ms Chalmers said.
“Ageing well means more than just staying healthy. It’s about staying connected, active, and living a life you love. Swinging Years beautifully encapsulates and celebrates this.”
Simon Abrahams, Creative Director & CEO of Melbourne Fringe, says FreeSteps – Swinging Years perfectly captures the Festival’s ethos of democratising the arts.
“Melbourne Fringe believes anyone can be an artist, and this project embodies that beautifully. Its dancers include people performing for the very first time alongside others with decades of experience. That’s what Fringe is all about: celebrating the extraordinary in the everyday.”
Performer Debra Batton is in her mid-sixties and says she believes the performance highlights the value of coming together as a collective.
“What I find really special is getting to dance with people that are my age or older. The experience they bring to the room, the conversations during our lunch break, watching people learn and transform across the process under wise direction has just been the most exciting thing. I feel enriched every moment.”
“We often think of ageing in terms of loss or limitation but performances like this remind us of the incredible strength and wisdom that comes with age,” Ms Chalmers added.
“Our goal at Care Connect is to empower older Australians to keep doing what they love, whether that’s dancing, gardening, volunteering, or simply spending time with people who matter most.”
Care Connect Care Manager, Jenny Dykstra says she has seen firsthand how staying active and connected can significantly improve wellbeing in older Australians.
“A few of my clients in their seventies and eighties regularly attend dance lessons and exercise classes—and they absolutely love it. For many of them, social activities and hobbies are an important part of their lives. They bring joy, purpose, and connection, which are all essential to wellbeing as we age. It’s just one of the many reasons why being supported to live independently at home leads to such positive outcomes.”
FreeSteps – Swinging Years will be performed as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival from October 14 – 18 at Meat Market’s Blackwood Box. Tickets are available at: www.melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/freesteps-swinging-years
Source: Aged Care Online
Published: Friday, October 10, 2025
Here is a link to the original article: Care Connect partners with Melbourne Fringe’s Swinging Years to celebrate movement, connection, and joy at every age | Aged Care Online