by
Jess Kok
Senior Services Community Liaison

Floy has been a Meals-on-Wheels participant since 2014. She is also one of several people that I started visiting on a weekly basis to test out IMPROVment, a physical and mental fitness class for older adults designed to encourage participants to create their own movements in response to auditory prompts, free from judgment and preconceived notions of what dance should look like. The idea is that there are no wrong movement choices.

Floy had a stroke that affected her left side not too long before we started our sessions. Since then her daily tasks—from preparing meals to answering the door—had become more of a challenge. “Everything has become a little more tedious,” she said. “I don’t even go out and sit on the bench in front of the apartment because it just feels kind of overwhelming to me sometimes.”

The freedom to move easily and adapt to real life challenges is a fundamental part of the human experience. Movement freedom allows individuals to enjoy a sense of self-sufficiency and to thrive in an ever-changing environment. As we age, being spontaneous can get harder, making it more difficult to stay connected with the outside world. The IMPROVment program allowed Floy to engage with her mind and body in unique ways. She said the movements “make me think and put my brain in my body and my hands.”

In addition to the mental and physical benefits that Floy noticed, she also looked forward to our sessions as a time for conversation and socialization. Especially after the stroke, she found herself spending most days passively watching television. Doing IMPROVment was a new activity and a way to connect with others. She remarked, “It gets very lonely sitting in a dark apartment day in and day out. People need more stimulation when they’re alone and living in a place by themselves. I think the human contact is sometimes more important than the exercises that we’re doing.” She added that the movements had significantly strengthened her “mobility and camaraderie.”

Christina Soriano, an associate professor of dance at Wake Forest University, developed the IMPROVment class for older adults based on the premise of self-generative movement. Since 2012, Christina has regularly taught a community dance class in Winston-Salem, NC, for people living with Parkinson’s disease and has been involved in three scientific studies that look at the ways improvisational dance can help the mobility and balance of people living with neurodegenerative disease. One of these classes is taught at Senior Services’ Elizabeth and Tab Williams Adult Day Center on Wednesday afternoons.

In the fall of 2017, Christina started the pilot process with an audio version of the class that could be done with anyone, anywhere and in group or individual settings. Taking this movement program out into the home for Meals-on-Wheels and Home Care participants, through our Aging with Purpose program, was a natural next step to the partnership Senior Services already had with these classes in the community. We have also been able to test out the audio version of IMPROVment at our Senior Lunch sites.

I’ve had the chance to introduce this pilot program to several elders and have witnessed some exciting and inspiring changes in the attitudes of those seniors who have opened up to the program. Floy is just one great example. Others, like Hazel, really responded, absolutely blossoming through our sessions. I found that participants smiled more and shared in conversation more after our time together and responded to the prompts in increasingly spontaneous ways. It’s very rewarding to see that kind of growth in a supportive and engaging setting. The audio prompts are put to music that anyone involved can relate to, dance to and laugh to. It’s such a simple and fun way to empower older adults to think creatively and stay aware of what they can do—not just what they can’t.

Seeing these women and others make these movements their own was inspiring for me. Though at first I felt a bit nervous and underqualified to take an improvisational dance class into their homes, just embracing that awkwardness together was a bonding experience. We connected in a more authentic way than we probably ever would have otherwise—all because we were vulnerable and accepting of one another in our silly moments.