The 21st of February, Teatro del Corazón presented their Clown Care activity in Tenerife with a group of clowns trained by Didier Danthois. The Clowns performed for 25 elderly residents of the Hogar Santa Rita in an inspiring  out-reach activity of the Sacred Clown in the local community.

The Hogar Santa Rita is an old people’s home developed by Father Antonio (1936-2011). The strong aspiration of Father Antonio was to create a home in which the elderly could live to a comfortable and healthy old age. This could really be felt through the great support from staff who assisted; there was a real culture of care. Padre Antonio would’ve probably been very pleased to see us and our activity taking place there.

During the session, the old folk responded in a special way, with a natural receptivity to the songs and to the mime-clown. This was a wonderful experience, helping the elderly to engage in relating and to establish further their sense of community. This experience was moving not only for the elderly, but for the staff at Santa Rita who commented how calm and heart-warming the sessions were.

The event was filmed by the local TV station Mírame, who also interviewed Didier and the other clown carers. Didier commented on how special it was to be able to create a space that invited the elderly residents to open up, allowing the silence to unfold and allowing the heart to be touched. Sara Rajzman, herself a very experienced clown, mentioned: “The dance between moments of silence, and the different activities such as performance of songs and mime gave the sessions a beautiful balance in which a connection between all of us could really be established.”