Moving Memories: A Collection of Movement From Past To Present

      

This project is a  collaboration between my dance company (Living Through Movement) and the residents of a Staten Island Healthcare facility that I have the privilege of knowing . They hold a huge part of my heart. I was inspired two years ago to work with Alzheimer’s Patients because my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s about three years ago. We have this amazing ability to communicate through music, movement & singing. Through my own personal experience I decided to work more closely with the Alzheimer’s population. I currently teach creative movement, dance and Yoga to Alzheimer's residents at Clove Lakes Nursing Home. I have been doing this work since February of 2013. Dance and movement with my residents has been a communicative breakthrough as a means to connect, express and create strong bonds between myself and the residents, particularly those who cannot speak.I have discovered that the movement  of my residents resembles their personalities, attributes and feelings, connecting to their cultures and traditions which have shaped them to be the people they are today. Utilizing dance, movement and vocalization as a form of expression with them, it has inspired a creative urge to portray the lives of the residents from their own personal movements into dances.  The purpose of this project is to depict 6-8 residents’ lives, experiences and current emotional state through dance. Through the funding of this grant, I would like to conduct a series of workshops with the dancers of my company and the residents. They will explore movement together. The dancer and resident will meet twice a week.  An exchange of movement sounds & connection will be completed. The dancer will establish a relationship with the resident. Observe and partake in the habitual and non habitual movement patterns of the resident, document there experience and create free movement based off of their experience of that day. The dancer, with my assistance, will create movements based off of what they learned through movement, speech and sounds from their partner.

The creation of the choreography will be a collaborative effort between resident  and dancer. The final production will be a series of modern dances influenced by the work of the dancer and resident.

The performance will debut in November 2014- Stay Tuned!

Here are some photos from the Project thus far:

Funded By An Art Fund Grant from Staten Island Arts