Dancing Through Life: Practicing Creative Movement with Seniors

The intention of this research was to explore the range of benefits that practicing creative movement on a regular basis can have for the senior population. It is widely recognized that regular participation in both creativity and movement-based activities can drastically improve quality of life on behalf of senior citizens due to their contribution to improved functioning of the mind and body. Perception of music has also been found to greatly improve the cognitive functioning of an aging brain. Due to the consensus that activities fostering engagement with music, movement, and/or creativity have a net positive effect on aging minds and bodies, I hypothesized that upon completing this six-week creative movement series for seniors at Solstice Senior Living, participants would report a general improvement in quality of life. Each of the six weekly classes began with a warm-up inspired by the developmental movement patterns outlined by Irmgard Bartenieff’s movement fundamentals, followed by a social game based in movement improvisation, and closed with guided breathwork and meditation. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire during both the first and last class of the series addressing their expectations for and experience with the class. Though many participants were unable to complete the entire six-week series, those who were able reported both fulfillment of their initial movement-based goals and expectations, and an overall improvement in quality of life, supporting my initial hypothesis. Upon finding that regular creative movement classes greatly benefit residents and Solstice Senior Living, I have decided to continue teaching weekly classes indefinitely in hopes of improving the quality of life of assisted living residents.