Dancing Into Older Age

In recent years, dancing – an enjoyable recreational activity – has been shown to improve the health and well being of older adults through physical activity. Research has shown that dance improves balance, agility and muscle strength, and suggests it could also improve mood and reduce the risk of depression in older adults. This is also important as all of these are considered important factors for reducing falls, a common cause of serious injuries in older adults

Why it’s important to keep moving as we age

Being active as an older adult is very important. Reducing the time spent sitting and increasing, the amount of time being active can extend the number of years a person can live independently, reduce disability, offer benefits to many bodily systems – for example heart and brain function – and improve overall quality of life. A recent BBC documentary ‘How to stay young’ listed dancing in its top tips. “Muscle shrinkage and weakening is almost inevitable as we age (from our 30s onwards it speeds up “rapidly”), but dancing is one of the best exercises to help us stay young… Dancing stimulates more muscles, tests your flexibility and uses your brain and your balance. It’s more comprehensive and holistic.”

 So, how can we encourage older people to engage with dance activity?

Active older adults up and down the country are involved in dance activity – from social dance, such as ballroom and line dancing to fitness-based classes, such as Zumba Gold. Classes offer regular activity which brings huge physical and physiological benefits. More often than not, however, classes are sited in community venues or gyms and rely on older adults being active and mobile to attend.

Yorkshire Dance is currently working on a series of projects which explore the benefits of dance with older adults, testing different approaches to delivery and finding ways to reach less active and frailer older adults, often within care home settings.‘We Danced’, a project based in Parson Cross, Sheffield, is an example of how such a project is demonstrating a clear impact. It brings together residents of a local care home with primary school children in a celebration of music and movement. The project addresses social isolation and loneliness and supports intergenerational relationships to flourish.Through this project, movement, dance and music are brought into an environment where staff are often under incredible pressure and facing overwhelming demands on their time and energy. The dynamic of the care home can be shifted through a single session, improving the wellbeing of residents and bringing a sense of joy and enabling positive interactions.

Similarly, Yorkshire Dance is leading on a cross-art form project titled ‘Young at Arts’, which aims to reduce social isolation and loneliness through a range of art forms. Sessions take place in settings from church halls to care homes, with a shared ethos of creating social opportunities. The social benefit of dancing is huge. The use of movement transcends language and enables people to connect in a completely different way. The approach is person-centred and inclusive, enabling each individual to participate on their own terms. Dance can provide a joyful, celebratory experience which is uplifting and energising.

Research into dance to combat ageing and dementia

Dance with older adults is an increasing area of research and a recent publication ‘Remember to Dance’ led by the Research Centre for Arts and Health, in partnership with Green Candle Dance Company and supported by the Headley Trust and Canterbury Christ Church University, evaluates the impact of dance activities for people in different stages of dementia. The findings support the growing evidence that regular, dementia-focused dance activities delivered by specialist practitioners can improve and prolong good quality of life relating to physical and mental wellbeing for people affected by dementia, and help to maintain – and even improve – function for those with the condition.

Dancing can prevent falls

In January 2015, Leeds Public Health commissioned Yorkshire Dance and the University of Leeds to create a dance programme to improve the health and wellbeing of community-dwelling older adults in Leeds, with a specific focus on factors known to contribute to falls. The ‘Dancing in Time’ team worked with three groups of older adults in different areas of Leeds for ten weeks, running two 90-minute sessions per week in each location.

As well as decreasing their number of hours per week spent sitting and increasing their hours engaged in moderate or hard physical activity, ‘Dancing in Time’ generated solid statistical evidence. Participants improved their mobility and balance and became increasingly confident in their ability to undertake tasks without feeling that they might fall. The research also showed that people who had taken part in ‘Dancing in Time’ felt happier at the end of the ten week programmes than they had at the beginning.

Despite growing research, there is still some way to go before dance is commissioned as a preventative activity for older adults. The dance community, however, is embracing the challenge to make the case and networks such as the dance and dementia network are increasing membership daily. Many organisations and independent artists are pioneering work for older participants, carving out opportunities to deliver programmes such as ‘We Danced’ in Sheffield.

It’s clear from this developing area of work that dance has a powerful role to play in supporting older adults to age positively, looking to movement and music to bring people together in activity which is celebratory by nature and proving that dance is far more than a performing art.

Read more about ‘We Danced’ here

This article was written by Hannah Robertshaw, Programmes Director, Yorkshire Dance