鈥淢y arms!鈥� shrieked the patient.
The excited yelp immediately grabbed the attention of Jesse Robson and Kayla Mallery. The two Dal students had organized this dance session, part of a weekly program they鈥檝e been running in geriatric restorative care at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. They were worried that the woman had hurt herself.
Quite the opposite actually, as the participant quickly clarified.
鈥淢y arms鈥hey feel alive!鈥�
Ms. Robson says it was exactly the sort of moment that inspired her to start the program in the first place. The dance sessions, which have been running for several months now, see Ms. Robson and Ms. Mallery teaching a variety of dances鈥擫atin, Hawaiian, African and more鈥攖o seniors in long-term recovery from major surgery.
Now, they鈥檙e expanding their program into a summer day camp pilot project called Heart & Soul. The camps involve more than 19 volunteers delivering a full suite of arts programming, once a week, to upwards of 35 seniors 鈥� the majority of whom are experiencing mental, physical and/or financial challenges. Activities include not just dance, but photography, art, poetry and more.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a really great opportunity to make friends, get out in the community and learn about parts of Halifax that I never knew existed,鈥� says Ms. Robson, who is originally from Newfoundland and will be enrolled in Dalhousie鈥檚 physiotherapy program this fall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also a chance to form one-on-one relationships with another generation. It鈥檚 been really interesting to learn the stories about what Halifax was like back in the day, and their reflections on current events. So many have had such fascinating lives.鈥�
Connecting with expression
The organizers have extensive backgrounds in dance: Ms. Robson has done work using dance as an outreach tool for special populations during her undergrad in Montreal, from HIV-positive children to street kids. And Ms. Mallery, who just finished her BSc in neuroscience at Dal, has danced since she was three.
鈥淚t was a great way to connect with artistic expression, but when I went to university I lost that a bit, not being as connected to the dance world,鈥� she explains. 鈥淔or me, personally, this has helped reconnect me with dance in a different way, bridging the knowledge that I learned in school.鈥�
With the evening dance program, Ms. Robson and Ms. Mallery do a lot more than get patients to move. They choreograph the dances so that wheelchair-bound patients can perform them, and they spend a lot of time detailing the history and culture behind the dances. That holistic approach resonates with patients, who come referred by recreation therapists and geriatric physicians.
鈥淲e did a session on Hawaiian dance, getting participants to come up with their own interpretations of the lyrics in dance,鈥� says Ms. Robson. 鈥淪ome of these participants had pretty advanced dementia and were somewhat non-verbal, but they began communicating really expressively through dance, coming up with some creative, elegant movements.鈥�
Giving back
The organizers have seen similar discoveries in the summer camp sessions 鈥� already they鈥檝e done collaborative poetry, sing-alongs, a 鈥渏unk orchestra鈥� with found materials and theatre. They鈥檝e been sharing the details regularly on their Happily Ever Active .
Their hope is to find ways to build on Happily Ever Active going forward, perhaps by offering similar programming to long-term care facilities throughout HRM.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great giving back to the community,鈥� says Ms. Mallery. 鈥淚 grew up here, and it鈥檚 given me so many opportunities, so it鈥檚 great to give something back. It鈥檚 a way to blend my interest in science and my love for dance, connecting people who can teach me so much. 鈥�
Jesse Robson (left) and fellow volunteer Isabel Lavender lead the program's participants in song. (Danny Abriel photo)