On Wednesday 13th December, Ellie Bamber was the proud recipient of the Christine Doolan Memorial Award for 2023.
The award is given in honour of DanceSyndrome supporter Chris Doolan, who sadly passed away in 2021, and it aims to reflect the love that the DanceSyndrome family have for her that will always live on.
Chris Doolan was Dance Leader Pauline Hall’s sister and they both joined DanceSyndrome in 2017. Everyone involved with DanceSyndrome came to love Chris for her kindness and generosity and her straight-talking, no-nonsense attitude. Chris loved all that DanceSyndrome stood for and she herself would help anyone in need. She joined in with the weekly dance sessions in Preston and further afield, travelling across the UK to hundreds of events and showcases. She was determined that Pauline would have the life she chose and never let disability be a barrier. “Nothing about me without me” was her motto, echoing DanceSyndrome’s person-centred values and mission to treat everyone equitably and with respect. Chris had experienced discriminatory practices throughout her work life, and she made it clear to everyone that it was unacceptable; she would challenge anyone to break down barriers for Pauline and her peers to be included and consulted. She was vocal about how much DanceSyndrome had enabled Pauline to thrive and live her best life.
This award was created in 2021 to celebrate Chris’s life and honour the contribution she made to DanceSyndrome and to the Learning Disability community. Every year we look for a winner who has:
– shown bravery, compassion and caring
– refused to give in when there were barriers
– challenged difficulties and overcome them
– been a great friend to others and brought joy and laughter to all.
Like Chris herself, the annual award winner leads by example with integrity and demonstrates great generosity of spirit and heart, giving us all something that we can all learn from.
In 2023, Ellie Bamber displayed all these wonderful attributes. Ellie was nominated for the award by her Dance Leader colleagues because she consistently showed kindness and compassion for her colleagues throughout the year, making everyone smile with her joyful approach to life.
Ellie is 23 years old from Blackpool. She joined DanceSyndrome just before lockdown in 2019 and carried on dancing throughout the pandemic when DanceSyndrome were forced to move activities online. After lockdown, Ellie joined the DS Collective performance team and has taken part in prestigious events such as U.Dance and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival performances. Ellie also completed DanceSyndrome’s unique Dance by Example Level 2 accredited course and now co-leads workshops and event activities on a regular basis.
Ellie said “I love being part of DanceSyndrome, we really are an amazing dance family. I have danced from the age of two and attended other places, but sometimes struggled to fit in with my learning difficulties. DanceSyndrome welcomed me with open arms, and I now feel I belong.
“My dream is to teach children with special needs dance. I feel this is now achievable, because of the support I receive at DanceSyndrome. I am now taking my level two Dance Leadership qualification with DanceSyndrome and feel really positive that my dream will come true. My learning difficulties won’t hold me back and I want to show others there are no limits to what you can achieve if you follow your dreams.”
Ellie has worked so hard throughout 2023 and we feel that she is a very worthy recipient of DanceSyndrome’s Christine Doolan Award for her compassion towards others in our community.
Congratulations to Ellie from everyone at DanceSyndrome!
Previous winners of the Christine Doolan Award:
2021 – Pauline Hall
2022 – John Burrow
