In the Dancing Together project, Artist in Resident Dr. Julia Becke is holding weekly dance-making sessions at the Memory Hub. In the community, Dr. Becke will also work with residents in The Terraces at Skyline. This project will culminate in a final performance on December 11, in which participants will act as co-creators of the dance movements.
By Julia Becke, MD, Memory Hub Artist in Resident
In the Dancing Together session with the Alzheimer's café, the energy and engagement in the room were amazing. Participants gamely transitioned into dancing after their art discussion, bringing a sense of openness and play. I particularly enjoyed seeing how care partners interacted together. For example, in our "fall forest walk" dance, I observed at least two couples playfully intertwining their arms like tree branches. It reminded me of how dance is such a powerful and simple way to live in the moment with our loved ones.
We've now had 5 weekly Dancing Together sessions at Skyline floors 6 and 9 as well as at the Memory Hub with Elderwise and other community members. Dancers in all classes have been working hard, bringing their creative energy, focus and good humor, along with their lovely singing voices. We've spent a good amount of time getting familiar with the class format, using repetition and familiar music to explore story telling through movement as well as some classical dance forms.
The crux of the project has been using works from the Frye Art Museum collection to inspire the creation of dance movements. We've spent time with "Septembre" by Francois Cachoud as well as "The Coming Storm, West Norway" by Hans Dahl. Both paintings have generated some opinions and astute observations, as well as occasional reminiscences. As we've worked to turn those thoughts and feelings into movement, lovely moments have happened. For example, as we 'danced' the idea of getting ready to climb into a cozy bed on a cold fall night, one dancer clasped his hands together as if holding the hand of a loved one while falling asleep. This past week, as we imagined painting our own stormy seas, a dancer used very precise 'brushstrokes' in the air to show the breaking waves on her imaginary canvas.
I will incorporate the dancers' movements into set, seated dance pieces that we will practice each week. We have one dance we've been practicing already, and we'll have two more prepared by the time of our community sharing event on December 11th. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the dancers create over our next 6 weeks!
