Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist

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Dancing with People with Dementia an Antidote to Loneliness and Isolation

The picture the media paints of dementia is grim. Coping with dementia, as with any chronic condition, is challenging for sure. But is it the soul-robbing experience often portrayed? I think not.

True, the loss of memory and the ability to navigate one's environment and accomplish the tasks of daily living make life considerably more difficult. But it is the loss of attention, relationship, and esteem that have the greatest impact on the person living with dementia.

I speak from the perspective as a daughter of a father who had vascular dementia as well as being a dance/movement therapist with  30+ years experience with this population. In fact, how we approach the disease and the person with the disease can be an opportunity to practice Buddhist teachings. When I bring embodied presence, compassion, beginner’s mind, and non-attachment to outcome through the medium of dance to a person with dementia, I discover my own humanity as well as the humanity of the other. And frequently I find joy.

 

Coming up shortly are 2 opportunities to learn how to bring dance to people with dementia in 15-hour trainings, one in NYC, the other Westwood, Massachusetts.

Learn the skills to engage, inspire and uplift older adults and people with dementia through dance and expressive movement. We will look at the symptoms and the strengths of people with dementia and how we can best support them. Through theoretical and practical applications, considerations of essential elements and challenges, I will teach you how to customize your groups to motivate even heterogeneous groups of older adults to express themselves so that each feels seen, heard, and appreciated for who they are. We will learn how to "be with" and how to give language to what we are doing.

This 15 hour training has been approved for 15 Category 1 LMHC CEUs and for 1 R-DMT Alternate Route education credit or 15 ceus. Anyone who is using the course for the 1 Alternate Route credit must complete readings and assignments in addition to attendance in the program.

 

Bringing Dance to Older Adults and People with Dementia

Fri, Apr 12, 6:30 PM - 9:30

Sat & Sun, Apr 13 & 14, 2019, 12-6 pm

at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center, 92nd Street Y (between 91st & 92nd street), 1395 Lexington Avenue, NYC.

 

and 

Bringing Dance to Older Adults and People with Dementia

Sat., May 18, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Sun, May 19, 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM

at Bridges by EPOCH at Westwood, 140 University Ave, Westwood, MA 02090

Why take this training? I am passionate about the importance of providing dance and dance/movement therapy to people with dementia. You can see me talk about it here. To be as vital as they can possibly be, they need dance and embodied caregiving regularly. It was my desire to engage people with significant dementia that motivated me to create the Octaband^® and recently Octaband Links^®.

 

In hopes of providing tools for researchers, I developed The Quality of Life Movement Assessment for Persons with Advanced Dementia intended to discover which interventions are effective for which person, correlating Laban-based movement observations with quality of life parameters. With the help of friend and colleague, Dr. Meg Chang, I wrote The Dance of Interaction, a train-the-trainer manual to aid people in using an embodied approach to train caregivers in nonverbal communication. I have been interviewed multiple times about dancing with people with dementia; here is one of my favorite recent articles. And I have written numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals to further our successes in reaching and enlivening people with dementia. My ongoing commitment to strengthen the network of effective practitioners and resources is resolute.

What people have said about the trainings: 

"I came to my groups today fully inspired and tried a new structure and focused on community building and fun. I led all levels including 2 assisted living groups that both stayed in circle after it was over and didn’t want to leave (they stayed chatting...first time that happened). I got my first response and smile from a memory care client with severe dementia. I got great feedback from an OT who passed by and watched for a bit. A new client with early stage Alzheimer’s is moving to a new facility and wants to 'take me with her'. . . With newly added knowledge, I have observed some remarkable improvements including increased engagement, larger range of movement, increased participation and staff cooperation.” Crystal Pena, student in DMT Alternate Route training

"I bring what I learned from your training into almost every client home by watching and listening carefully for the cues that let me into their brains." Gail Leichtman, Ed.M., LSW, Certified Care Manager, Your Elder Experts

“I loved your training! . . . My style of teaching has evolved. I have integrated the techniques that you taught us at the training. I am getting some great results, and feel I can really connect with many of the 20 residents. I found the training profound and wonderful.”
- Susanne Liebich, Dancing Wellness ™, Healing Motion For Life

I hope you'll join me at one of these two trainings to strengthen the community 

Excited about today's midterm elections playlist for my group with frail elders. Included in the playlist are: Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, Ethel Merman's Anything You Can Do, Ella Fitzgerald singing Vote For Mister Rhythm, my all time favorite for these days, Bob Marley's Get Up Stand Up, Aretha Franklin singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T, Sinatra singing High Hopes (I think that was JFK's theme song), One from Chorus Line, and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive. Should be great fun.

The Octaband® a Device to Bring People Together

At a time when the U.S., and the world, are riddled with strife, the Octaband® is a tool to bring people together.

My understanding of health is a holistic one. It is the relationship between the parts, and between the parts and the whole, that bring health and healing. The etymology of the word "heal":

"Old English hælan "cure; save; make whole, sound and well," from Proto-Germanic *hailjan (source also of Old Saxon helian, Old Norse heila, Old Frisian hela, Dutch helen, German heilen, Gothic ga-hailjan "to heal, cure"), literally "to make whole," from PIE *kailo- "whole" 

As long as we attempt "fixes" that look only at the parts without looking at the whole, we will continue to fail. I love this quotation by American architect, Buckminster Fuller: "When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. But when I'm finished, if the solution is not beautiful I know it's wrong."

At this moment, I see divisiveness itself as a problem. How can we use the Octaband® to bring people together?

From the outset, set the intention for the group to work together (play) in such a way that every person has an opportunity to lead and to follow and where care is taken to preserve the Octaband® (i.e., not tear it). Look for harmony, balance, and joy as indicators that healing is happening.

Dance/movement therapist Devika Mehta of Synchrony in Mumbai, India, shared these photos:

Certified Movement Analyst Karen Bradley leads a weekly Community dance class, JustDance, in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia. Her website should be up shortly. She sent photos and a video of her adult class using the Octaband. 

Octaband Products Are on Sale until October 20

All of our products to get people moving, including the newest, are on sale, but only til October 20.

If you haven’t already seen it, we now have a 24-leg Octaband® with a beautiful purple center.

Second, Ollie the Octopus is a children’s book I wrote for children ages 3 to 8. Illustrated by expressive arts therapist and Lesley alum Bethany Beers-Mullen with her beautiful black and white illustrations. As Ollie the octopus explores his neighborhood, he reveals some of the many ways that octopuses can move. Used in conjunction with the Octaband®, Ollie the Octopus can be used by teachers of young children to educate about octopuses while inspiring them to move together as unique individuals and as part of a group.

And, third, see our newly developed Octaband Links®.

Octaband Links® are individual stretch bands with hems on each end, with multiple uses:

• perfect for resistance exercises for people with latex allergies or grasping difficulties
• for partner stretching for 2 people within close proximity
• for partner stretching for people sitting more than 36” apart by looping Links together
• used as a circular group stretch band of varying sizes by looping Links together, with both ends to be held by group leader

as extenders for the legs of the Octaband® for circles larger than the Octaband® permits.

Octaband Links® come in packages of 4 or 8.

All can be found on Dance for Connection’s new website. 

Any products you purchase and want to pick up at the 10th annual Arts in Healthcare Conference, September 27 at Washburn Lounge, Lesley University where I will be presenting, just notify me. I can bring the products to you before or after my presentations (before 4, after 7).

I believe Dr. Meg Chang and I will also be selling signed copies of our manual, The Dance of Interaction at the conference.

Octaband LLC celebrates 12 years in the market today!

It's hard to believe. Twelve years passes so quickly, but not without the Octaband® bringing a lot of joy and connection to people around the world.

From Australia, where Social Shindig used the new 24-leg Octaband 

to Forest Springs in South Carolina

and MELBOURNE BASED KIDS ENTERTAINMENT, again Melbourne, Australia

 a Parkinson's Music and Movement group

to Cambridge, Massachusetts

and to Italy, where Francesca Nicassio's music therapy kids draw their favorite activity of the day (they call it “Dance with Mimma the jellyfish”, their name for the Octaband®

people the world over are coming together, with the Octaband®.

Our new website is in progress, but you can learn about the Octaband here and purchase here, including the 24-leg Octaband, only available directly through Octaband LLC.

Stay tuned, as I will be blogging here again regularly (I hope), and letting you know about our newest products here as well.

 

This blog has lain dormant for the past few years, since I had a new blog on my old website. I will be reviving this blog as I now have a new website once again. You can subscribe to get notifications when new articles have been posted. www.danceforconnection.com and www.octaband.com

In the Wake of Paris ~ The Octaband® Symbolizes Our Impact upon One Another

In a world where our reach is global, how can we each own up more responsibly to our part in others' disenfranchisement?

Read more on Dance for Connection's new blog site here.

What Was the Colorful Thing with Arms on the Season Finale of Blunt Talk?

If you happened to be watching the season finale of Blunt Talk on StarZ on October 24 and wondered what that colorful stretchy dance prop with arms was that the nurses were using with the patients in a seated “dance therapy” group ~ well, wonder no more. That thing was an Octaband®.

You can see a link to the video of the Octaband being used here.

Dance for Connection: Creating Connection and Joy through Dance, Movement,Engagement

Dance for Connection is my new website which went live earlier this summer. As with all things technical, I am experiencing a steep learning curve as far as how to post new blog articles, but from now on that is where my new articles will be posted.

I began Musings of a Dance/Movement Therapist in July 2007 - 8 years and about 692 posts ago. I appreciate you, my readers, and hope that you will follow me there. You can subscribe to Dance for Connection monthly newsletter to keep in touch.

Depending upon your preferred social media sites, you can follow us in a number of additional places. Octaband has a new Youtube channel with a number of videos of the Octaband with kids and older adults. Watching them can provide you with additional ideas for how to use the Octaband successfully.

 

Octaband's FB page can be found here. In a recent post, you can have a behind-the-scenes look to learn a bit more about how the Octaband is made, marketed and delivered. If you like the Octaband, please LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, as that helps build customer confidence. And if you do not like the Octaband, please write and let us know why. We would truly love your photos and your stories. After all, the Octaband is all about the people who use it.

Dance for Connection's FB is here. You'll find quick updates to Dance for Connection and news about dance/movement therapy.

 @Octaband is our twitter feed.

I'm having fun with Pinterest as well. So far, it's under my name, Donna Newman-Bluestein. You'll find boards there about dance/movement therapy, dance and dementia, dementia, creativity, creative arts activities, dance, etc.

One of our awesome summer interns set Octaband up with an Instagram account as well.

I hope to see many of you at the American Dance Therapy Association's 50th Annual conference Oct. 22 - 25 where I will be presenting a pre-conference intensive with Astrid Struijk: Affecting the Lives of People with Dementia through Embodied Attunement and Expressive Movement.

Or perhaps meet you at the 32nd Annual APT (American Play Therapy) International Conference in Atlanta, GA where Octaband will be exhibiting October 6-10.

And then, again, I'll be presenting Dance & Expressive Movement to Engage and Inspire People with Dementia at the Expressive Therapies Summit in NY on Saturday, November 7.

Until then, with a heart full of gratitude for getting to do the work that I love,

Donna

JF&CS Memory Café Waltham, MA ~ The Power of Dance to Inspire, Uplift & Heal

Friday, August 7 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Contact Beth Soltzberg at bsoltzberg@jfcsboston.org or 781-693-5628.

1430 Main St., Waltham, MA

I'm looking forward to leading this uplifting group tomorrow.