What Makes Your Heart Dance?

Today I sent an email asking people the question “what makes your heart dance”? I included this photo and story about a gentleman who worked for months to be able to stand and dance with his wife.

I promised we’d post the responses on our blog and here is our first batch.

Smiling faces even with wheelchair dancing, especially when you are almost 100. And a certain 103 yr old was on the dance floor all night going strong at our dance last Friday having a great time. – Babs

What makes my heart dance is being a Kairos Dancing Heart volunteer.  Seeing the participants so full of enthusiasm and excitement when we walk in – they are so eager to join in the fun of dance and storytelling. We see the laughter in their eyes and we share the love in our hearts.  I’ve been away from the Dancing Heart for a while recovering from surgery and I have missed all the wonderful people – participants, staff, volunteers – connected with Kairos Dance Theatre.  I hope to be back with the Dancing Heart program soon and feel my heart dance again!! – Faith

I’d say – knowing that I get to spend time with my adult children, they’re the most important thing to me! Also getting to stay in touch with my dad who lives in California and has moderate dementia, I cherish those phone calls where he still knows me and can give me encouraging words like he always has. – Laurie

Please join our ever growing list and share your comments! We’ll keep the Valentine’s love flowing this week.

Eros –Alive and Well

It is Tuesday afternoon and I am preparing for our Dancing Heart™ session at Heritage Commons. As I rummage through our scarf and boa bag—I remember rummaging through my mother’s closet and jewelry box, looking for the shimmering bracelet, or a colorful scarf or even a wig. I smile; getting excited to “play”. At our sessions we always begin with what we call the creative spark, it could be special song, dance, and theme—usually kinesthetic, to get the energy moving.

The moment I arrive I pull out the boas, and wrap it around the necks of Char, Debra and June.  I play “Fever” by Peggy Lee. Char takes the lead and teaches us a sensuous hand dance, we imagine we are taking a white glove slowly off. Debra shimmies to “everybody got the fever…” and June stands and erupts into a playful hip shake, hugging herself… “fever when you hold me tight”.

As the song ends, we look at each other and laugh in delight, pink and yellow feathers are scattered on the floor–it looks like a late night party.

I look around at this group of wise, playful elders and know that Eros is alive and well in all of us.

Carla

Pay Attention. Love Everyone!

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Dancing Heart™ at Wilder’s  Adult Day Program was honored by royalty today. In observance of St. Paul’s Winter Carnival traditions the wonderful caring staff at the Wilder program is crowning a queen and a king every day of the week this week.  Today was Dancing Heart day so we were honored to be part of the coronation and celebration.  Upon receiving the crown King Darian was asked for a few words of wisdom.  He skipped nary a beat while proclaiming “Pay Attention!” and the crowd went wild.

Part of the ensuing celebration involved the enactment of a lovely dark purple water dragon in view of this being the  Chinese year of the Water Dragon.  The Water Dragon suggests that the king’s reign will be characterized by the Power of Flow.  Next the Queen was to be chosen, not an easy task among such a gathering of wise and lovely ladies-in-waiting.  When the crown finally settled on Astrid’s head the crowd went wild again.  When asked for her words of wisdom the queen spoke with such a sense of truth and beauty that it seems certain her words will reverberate beyond this place and beyond this day,

“Love Everyone”!

The Arts Define Who We Are

We’re very fortunate because we have Congressman Ellison who clearly understands the value of the arts.  Read this article from Minnpost.com for all the details.

Every day we see the impact the arts has on our senior population. Today two of our teaching artists returned from a Dancing Heart™ session with a group of Russian immigrants completely exhausted and exhilarated by the experience. The participants couldn’t get enough of the music, of dancing together, of laughing and sharing. Cris, our violinist, was moved when one woman shared how hearing the violin touches her heart.

After experiencing a session like that how can one not want everyone to have similar experiences?

How have the arts touched your life today?

Wade In the Water–Joan’s Last Dance

I have known Joan Calof for over 10 years.  We are both storytellers.  Joan joined Kairos Dance Theatre two years ago at the age of 81-spunky, talented and full of “chutzpah”.  Joan had a wonderful gift of creating Jazz like poetry mixed with her life experiences– experiences that sometimes had a wild Bohemian edge to it. Joan brought her sexy, sensuous, jazz persona into the dance company.  She was playful and flirtatious and over the two years we danced together– I watched her heart open in the arms of the “Kairos Family.”

Joan entered hospice four months ago. Several Kairos dancers came to her bedside one evening. There was one dance that Joan loved–”Wade in the Water”.  It seemed a perfect dance for her transition into the next world.  Maria, Peter, Jesse, Georgiana and I created a tight circle around Joan’s bed, we pushed the CD player, and each of us with Joan so, so thin under her thick covers, looking heavenly– began to dance, together, synchronized, our arms moving lyrically, as water.  The room filled with presence.  We breathed, we cried and we danced.  What a perfect last dance.

We will miss you Joan.

Carla

Romeo

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Romeo has been coming to Dancing Heart sessions for three years and has exhibited a knack for sharing love with humans of all ages and abilities. Sometimes  Romeo would be just the right bribe needed to get a particularly stoic gentleman to join our dance circle. However, Romeo was unable to go to all of our sites because he was not a certified therapy dog. But that is no longer the case.

We’re happy to announce that Romeo has graduated and been certified as an official therapy dog. This will allow him to participate in Dancing Heart sessions at the V.A. Adult Day Program where I’m sure he will be very popular!

Upon graduation Romeo received a bright red kerchief  reading “Paws a while for Love” which he wears with pride.

Thanks to trainer Lynne Silvis at The Canine Coach.

Stone of Hope…I Do Believe

 

 

Dancing Heart participants have been thinking over the words of Dr. Martin Luther King this week and offering some thoughts of their own. One man got a hitch in his voice singing “We Shall Overcome” after recounting how his own father, a banker, lost everything in 1929 and wasn’t able to earn a dime to support his family for three years. A woman recounted trying to make ends meet as a single mom with five kids in the early 60′s.

Words of wisdom poured out:  ”Love God, love one another, ACT that way”, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional”, “Do what you can with what you have.”

People from all walks of life shared movement, music, and emotion as we shared the widespread human experience of finding the stone of hope in a mountain of despair.

~ Peter

They’re Dancing Now at the Vet Adult Day

Yesterday, Kairos teaching artists, intergenerational dance company, staff, volunteers and our long-time supporter Nancy Rayfield joined our favored musical collaborators, Irv Williams (sax), Peter Schimke (piano) and Billy Peterson (bass guitar) to help VA Adult Day participants, family members, staff and volunteers celebrate the holidays with music, dance, presents and treats.

We have been bringing our Warrior Dancing Heart program to the Adult Day in Richfield, Minnesota since July, but this is the first time we got to be part of a holiday celebration. Irv and the guys began playing “Let it Snow” with folks sitting and listening. You know me; I can’t just sit there and listen to dance music so I started swaying and clapping my hands and then before you know it I asked Steve to dance. He gave me a smile and slowly raised himself out of the chair. We started dancing in the back and within a minute I looked around and the room was full of people dancing; Vets dancing with their wives, family members, staff, volunteers and Kairos performers. The room was hopping!  I had thought we would have the band play two numbers and then we would begin our short performance. Instead, I kept asking the band to play one more – I wanted this room full of smiling, laughing dancers of all ages and abilities to just keep dancing.

Afterward after more dancing, a performance by Kairos performers, which included Eva, 2 years, Jack, 6 years and Chloe, 9 years and our three new dancers who have emigrated from Russia and the Ukraine, Ludmilla, Irina and Ludmilla. After Jack and Chloe helped hand presents out, photos with Santa taken and many cookies eaten, I asked a staff member if a year ago they would have had a room full of dancing soldiers and their friends. She shook her head no. “No, the other year we had an orchestra and everyone just sat like this:” she pantomimed sitting with a slump. This was great. You guys are great.”

The feeling is mutual. I never guessed the impact that this program would have on me. You guys are great: thank-you for opening your hearts to us. Thank you, VA staff for welcoming us and joining in our dancing and storytelling. And thank you dear family members; you are the unsung heroines and heroes.

May this coming New Year also bring you joy. Please don’t forget to keep on dancing!

Merry Christmas!

- Maria

Generations Dance Together

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Kairos’ The Dancing Heart™ has been having some great intergenerational sessions involving Adam’s Elementary students and Sholom Home East adult day participants in St. Paul. Kairos Teaching Artist Parker Genné has been working with students who read the book “Trudy” about a middle school student whose father has Alzheimer’s and is considerably older than her fellow students’ fathers.

As with everything at Kairos, we begin with dance. Dance is  the gateway in working with both young and old so we thought the adults and students meeting would begin by dancing together. In order to do that, Parker began by leading the students in a Dancing Heart, warming up the body, grooving to music by Hank Balland and tackling swing dancing.

When we decided the students and elders would meet each other we had no idea how deeply they would connect nor how power the impact of this experience would have on all of our lives. Having grown up at a different time with different expectations for boys, I’m happy to report our culture seems to have grown stronger in the area of boys expressing themselves through dance!

In addition to dancing, the students asked a lot of questions about the elders’ life experiences.

• Arnold shared how he entertained himself as a boy in Romania by playing “table top soccer” with buttons.
• Harold explained the nuances of “mumblepeg”, a game played with a jack-knife.
• Marie talked about cutting out paper dolls and their dresses with scissors. Lots of hands both young and old went up when we asked who in the room had done the same.

I’m also happy to report that the stories shared among the participants are impacting their lives. Relationships have formed. Parker is now passing notes between the young boys and Arnold.

After the session a young girl insisted on giving Marie her necklace. Marie’s glow showed that innocent joy of receiving a precious gift is available at any age.

~Peter~

This Is Kairos

This beautiful photo/music/poetry montage is a very thoughtful distillation of the ripples Kairos puts out in the world. Kairos staff wept individually in recognition of the heartfulness of our daily work as shown in this piece. (you can click on the photo too)

                                                     

Many thanks to John Simpson for his sensitivity, artistry and vision in creating “This Is Kairos“.

We welcome your thoughts. . .