A nursing home in western Sydney may seem like a peculiar location to hunt for inspiration for a flamenco performance, but for Pepa Molina, the setting was perfect.

Residential Gardens — or Parque Habitacional — in Rooty Hill is Australia's only Spanish-speaking aged care home.

So for Molina, an internationally renowned flamenco dancer, teacher and producer, the nursing home setting was a no-brainer.

"As the only Spanish-speaking nursing home, it gathers the memories of all of our ancestors and community," she said.

"I was very interested in engaging them in conversations about our culture and the flamenco artform ... and turning that into a performance of its own."

Conversations at the aged care home have been collected and turned into choreography. ( Supplied: Josh Morris )

Turning words into dance

In 2018, Molina spent two months at the home, dancing, talking and listening to music with some of the 106 residents, who hail from Spain, the Philippines, and South and Central America.

It was part of an artist-in-residency program facilitated by Blacktown Arts Centre.

A year on, Molina is preparing to present her observations in dance form in a performance called Perceptions – Prohibido dar el cante.

"Some of [the residents], especially the ones that were from Spain, [flamenco] was really the soundtrack of their lives," she said.

"From those conversations and through deep research, I was able to extract the essence of some of the conversations and create choreography."

Molina spent two months at the home as part of an artist-in-residency program. ( Supplied: Josh Morris )

Regarded as an icon of Spanish culture, flamenco is both a musical type and dance form based on the folkloric traditions from the country's south.

For many of the home's residents, even those with dementia or Alzheimer's, the program was engaging.

"Pedro, who was one of the most active residents during the residency, was very engaged in conversation because his brother was a flamenco guitarist," Molina said.

"He was telling me about all the parties and how they lived and how flamenco was always present and it's their life.

"He missed it so much, because the Spanish community [in Sydney] had fallen apart because of the Spanish Club not being there anymore — there wasn't a nexus, there wasn't a meeting point.

"He's in a wheelchair, but he was ready to get up and dance with me."

For Molina, who's dedicated her life to the artform, seeing others benefit from flamenco led her to believe similar programs should be introduced elsewhere.

"Music has been proven to help with dementia and help with Alzheimer's, so it's dance therapy and it's musical therapy, so I think every aged care home should be doing programs like this."

Isabel Molina's first memory of flamenco was her daughter being taught how to dance. ( Supplied: Josh Morris )

Health benefits

Nursing home chief executive Marta Terracciano said the program didn't just bring colour and movement to the facility, it also meant residents' general health improved.

"Music is a very important tool to engage with mental health, physical too," she said.

"It's related to any time of your life, but when you're ageing, it takes you back to your roots and it's magnificent."

For the residents, the program was all about cultural expression.

"It was amazing. I loved the dance, the music, the visuals," Leonard Gerard said through a translator.

"I think it's very important to have facilities where you can express your culture."

Molina's work will premiere as part of Blacktown's inaugural Magnify Festival. ( Supplied: Josh Morris )

Molina's mother Isabel agreed.

"My first memory was my mother teaching Pepa when she was seven years old to dance flamenco — and from then to now, she's become an expert in what she does," she said.

"It's so important for us to see. It makes us feel Spanish again."

The first iteration of Perceptions – Prohibido dar el cante will premiere at Residential Gardens on September 15 as part of Blacktown's inaugural Magnify Festival.