Why are more and more older people discovering – or rediscovering – dance? This fun source of creative expression has some surprising benefits.
As the Bee Gees sang in Saturday Night Fever, you should be dancing.” More and more older people are discovering their inner John Travolta and taking that energizing message out onto the floor. Senior centers and other centers around the country offer free or low cost dance classes – plus, of course, Senior Planet’s online dance party series on Fridays.
There’s a growing body of proof that dancing improves cardiovascular function, increases core strength, improves memory and flexibility and lifts mood – but what explains the growing popularity of dance as a creative outlet for older people?
Dancing Builds Connections and Joy
Naomi Goldberg Haas, 63, artistic director of Dances for a Variable Population, a NYC-based non-profit multi-generational dance company, believes that dance is about connecting with others. She says, “It allows for illuminating a host of emotions, being understood at a deep level. We dance because we feel and want to express.”
Older choreographers like George Faison, Ellen Graff, Stuart Hodes, and Marni Thomas Hood were invited to create works with DVP dancers. Their performances were captured in Josefina Rotman Lyons’ 2020 documentary, Revival, a meditation on aging, dance, and community.
Wanna Dance?
Haas encourages older persons to consider taking a dance class for the pure enjoyment of moving, improved confidence, balance, and connecting with others through the act of dancing.
Finding Joy in Tapping
77-year-old SuZen, a fine art photographer and multimedia artist, learned tap dancing out of spontaneity and now takes weekly lessons. She expresses how tap dancing brings her joy and freedom, enhancing her memory and balance, and helping her overcome learning insecurities as a senior.
Dance as Physical Therapy
63-year-old Carolyn Davis has been using dance as a form of physical and mental therapy since she was a child, to relieve spasticity caused by cerebral palsy. She finds it invigorating and a way to express her mood and often hosts virtual dance parties from her home.
Want to get your groove on? Join Senior Planet’s next Friday afternoon dance party! Find details and sign in info here.
Kate Walter is the author of two memoirs: Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter; and Looking for a Kiss: A Chronicle of Downtown Heartbreak and Healing. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in various outlets.
