The students knew little about muscular dystrophy and what went on at the children’s hospice and the young people from the hospice had had little contact with Joseph Leckie College. It’s been a great learning process for everyone involved.

Movement has been really powerful in allowing new guests to find out about each other in a way that values what they bring to the present moment rather than focusing on their losses. It enables people to open up and find out about each other through their own creativity and the vitality of their imaginations.

Jeannie writes: ” the sessions have gone really well with lots of laughter, some poignant moments, some sad moments, all carried in a very warm positive atmosphere….

The stories have been great and all been told through movement and dancing. In one session we went to Jamaica, flew in plane with Princess Anne, and had a virtual snow-boarding experience.”

A film will be made of the final session and shown as part of Dance Screens in Birmingham October 2009

A NEW film about the lives of people having to cope with a terminal illness will receive its premiere at Birmingham’s Electric Cinema on Station Street at 6.30pm on Monday…

Night And Day documents the highs and lows of six patients and their families from the Birmingham area as they come to terms with impending death.

The film explores how illness affects relationships when spouses become the primary carer.

Patients, families and friends talk candidly about the impact on them from both a practical and psychological perspective, as well as the support they need from palliative care teams in the community.

Night and Day has been produced by the arts-based organisation Rosetta Life as part of a wider Let’s Talk about Living campaign.

Chris Rawlence, director of media at Rosetta Life, says: “Birmingham and neighbouring parts of the West Midlands are leading the way in enabling people to talk about subjects that have traditionally been taboo in the British psyche.

“This new film will inject compassion and understanding into the debate about the best ways of helping the individuals and families affected.”

The film and associated campaign has been funded by grants from Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust (BEN PCT).

Melanie Young, senior commissioner at BEN PCT, said: “All those who have worked on Night and Day are to be congratulated for their innovative approach to this difficult subject.

“The patients and families involved should be applauded for their courage in telling their stories in this film.

“They are true stars who will provide inspiration to countless others who find themselves in the same position in years to come.”

The patients and family members featured in Night and Day are: John and Margaret Trueman; Elias and Doreen Pharaoh; Zoey, Garry and Zac Hill; Joy and Sav Minogna, Sally Coulter and Eve Crocker.

Other parts of the Let’s Talk About Living campaing include a new play set to tour venues in and around Birmingham; musical, poetry and photographic workshops; a children’s concert at the CBSO centre; the launch of a specially choreographed dance programme; and publication of a digital book.

On the film front, Night and Day is nearing completion for its preview screening at the Electric Cinema 29th June. One of the hospice participants in this film is sadly no longer with us. We are often asked what it’s like to work with people who might die in the course of a project – to which we answer: sad, sometimes very sad, but rarely surprising. In fact the proximity of death often heightens the intensity of these encounters on film, leaving room only for what most matters in the here and now.

We are working with four actors from Birmingham Repertory Theatre to develop and perform the script. Six participants from the hospice are going to join the actors perform their story on stage.

Working with people living with a life-threatening illness means treading a fine line between developing an entertainment, and working with theatre as a therapeutic intervention. We are also trying to ensure that everyone who gets involved feels that the experience is enriching and enhances their quality of life.

The Magical Glow of the Co Op is a good example of our new social arts practice: collaborations between professional artists and people in hospices enabling people to share stories of their life with the support of professional artists. We hope that this approach broadens the cultural canon, enabling the stories of many whose lives are often undocumented to reach a wide audience.