SUMMARY

Dance is ephemeral. As an art form based in the kinesthetic sense, it can only be experienced in the here and now. Barbara Mettler’s thoughts are relevant to our understanding:

[Improvisation] is our dance here and now, to be created and performed with all the skill at our disposal. . . . Each dance is unique according to the time, the place, and the people. . . .

Our improvisations need not have impressive climaxes and conclusions. They are not interpretations of life, they are authentic life experiences—casual, flowing, irrevocable and precious—to be begun, continued and ended as simply as any other phase of life.

(I960, p. 401)

Our group dance is a time and space set aside for playing with others, expressing ourselves through the medium of dance as well as through our voices. It’s a time when we are all more in our bodies, expressing our rhythmic responses through movement, hopefully in synchrony, but where every person’s movement is appreciated for its uniqueness as well. There’s a certain satisfaction is seeing people come alive, feel emboldened to express themselves, and make choices, internally led.

The physical contrasts may not be as striking as would be the case for professional dancers, but compared to how they are at the beginning of a group, the difference is often dramatic. Prior to group, people are often sitting inert, passively settled into their chairs, not relating to other people or their environments. Sometimes I feel like a magician, where, with a few words and gestures, we move from a still tableau into a dance of interaction. Watching their focus shift from internal to external in our initial greeting as my presence invites theirs is itself quite moving. With props and the relationship to motivate their engagement and without an internal censor to inhibit them, people with dementia are generally quite playful and spontaneous. While some people may still participate in activities because of social propriety, there are many who will not unless their intrinsic motivation is tapped. It must be meaningful for them to engage. It is a rare group where I am not surprised by their contributions. The synergy that happens when every person brings their self as fully as possible, which happens in most groups, is a remarkably joyous and fulfilling experience—for me, for them, and for any staff who happen by.

Expressive arts therapy pioneer Shaun McNiff (2004) wrote:

Groups arc capable of generating much more energy and power than a person acting alone. The leader activates the energy of community, setting in motion a dynamic interplay among the people, the space, the images, and the spirits of expression. This creates the atmosphere of authenticity and healing only available in a safe and sacred space.

(P-30)

In my work with these older adults and people with neurocognitive impairments, I am continually moved by their genuineness, which further feeds my sense of aesthetics. As people age, they seem to become more of who they are, more themselves. I love working with people in a way which is authentic, unlike the everyday world where there is so much artifice. These people have to be who they are—it seems as if they have no choice. At a time in their lives when they need care, surrounded by people they don’t know, slowed down, avoiding risks, rarely moving suddenly or off balance, they and I delight in our dance together.

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