Move to Music sessions focus on fun, well-being and building a sense of community. Sessions are for groups at seniors’ residences, care facilities, day programs, and community centres. There is an overview of sessions further below.
Training is available for activity staff at residences and community programs, who are interested in learning to facilitate Move to Music sessions. The online course covers facilitation guidelines, adapting instructions and dance styles, ideas for dance props and music, and activities for sample sessions. A course prerequisite is prior training in safe physical activity with older adults. If you are interested in the Move to Music facilitation training, please be in touch.
Over a decade, Move to Music sessions have been refined through offering programs with 40 communities: 23 care and assisted living residences, 8 retirement residences, and 9 non-residential communities of Elders and older adults. The facilitation course has been developed so that more residences and communities can offer similar programs across the country.
Dancing is an excellent way to support brain health, along with physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being.
Research in recent decades has found that the combination of cognitive stimulation, social engagement and physical activity is ideal for reducing the risk of dementia. Movement is key for healthy aging, maintaining mobility and quality of life, and music is a wonderful medium for connecting and uplifting.
Overview of sessions
Group classes are done with chairs in a circle; it is a chance to be social, exploring dance and creativity in a supportive setting.
The dance activities and music vary each time, to keep it engaging. Move to Music sessions include a gentle warm-up, a simplified social dance step, a bit of a dance party with fun music from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and movement activities that can all be done seated. The program integrates elements from ballroom and various dance styles (e.g. Waltz, Jive, Cha Cha, Disco), as well as dance improvisation. The music includes big band, jazz, world music and rhythm & blues as well as other genres.
Various fitness aspects are woven in to the class: cardio, muscular strength, endurance and power, flexibility, balance, reaction speed, and multi-tasking. Participants are equally welcome to dance with smaller or bigger movements, or to simply rest, enjoy the music and dance through their imagination. The most important thing is that participants pay attention to what their body, brains and senses need, and listen to their own limits.
In these classes, there is no “wrong” way to dance, and there are no routines to remember. No prior dance experience needed. Move to Music classes include a mix of guided dance and improvised movement activities. The instructor provides an example and general structure, encouraging each person to move in the ways that work for their body, mobility, brain, and senses.
The length of the sessions is geared to what is appropriate for the members of the location. At most locations 45 minutes is excellent; at some care facilities 30 minutes might be more appropriate.
So many benefits to dancing!
Research has shown that dancing is one of the very few physical activities that reduce the risk of dementia. Learning new movements, and the creativity involved in making choices about how we want to move, helps to nurture and rewire the brain. Some research has shown that taking exercise classes, walking and swimming do not reduce the risk of dementia, however dancing at least 4 times a week does (source: Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly, New England Journal of Medicine).
Being active is one of the most important aspects of better health in later years (source: Heart & Stroke Foundation). As Pat Nichol summarized in May 2013′s Senior Living Magazine:
“Dancing, more than any other form of exercise has been found to delay the aging process.”
Dance is also a great way to express ourselves freely, and to be social without needing to say anything verbally. As mentioned above, dancing can be a beautiful way to support physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual wellbeing.
About the facilitator (Jo Cuffe)
I am passionate about creating opportunities for everyone to dance in their own way. I love connecting with each person and bringing a group of people together.
I have been teaching dance since 2003, and have been honoured to facilitate dance with more than 100 communities and groups. I have been studying dance for more than 25 years, have professional training in contemporary dance, and have studied dance improvisation with more than 30 teachers. I have a Master’s of Education in in Community Leadership and Adult Education, and Dance Instructor Professional Liability Insurance.
For more details about the Move to Music facilitation training, please be in touch.