https://reasonstobecheerful.world/art-for-health/
"When Jamie Schuler teaches her Friday dance classes, some of her students stay
seated. They follow her movements, some using just their upper or lower limbs,
others syncing their hands and feet to the beat. Occasionally, the choreography
leads to impromptu singalongs — one class spontaneously began belting the
chorus of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”
At this particular class, held three days a week in Boulder, Colorado, most of
the up to two dozen dancers have Parkinson’s disease or other conditions that
impact their mobility. A mashup of physical therapy and artistic expression
developed by New York’s Mark Morris Dance Group, Schuler’s classes are designed
to help participants manage aspects of their diseases, like coordination,
balance and gait, while declaring dance an art form for everyone. Some of the
dancers have even joined 3rd Law, the company that puts on the classes, in
live, on-stage professional performances.
“It’s joyful and fun,” says Schuler. “You don’t have to be a patient in this
room. We are just moving together.”
Community-based workshops like this reflect a growing body of scholarship
linking the arts to improved outcomes in physical and mental health. The
research is fueling a push to make arts more accessible for everyone from
childhood through adulthood, while hospitals, therapists and clinical
researchers are increasingly bringing art and culture into environs for healing
— often with remarkable results.
“We understand now, because of the epidemiological evidence that we have, that
access to the arts is a determinant of health and well-being,” says Jill Sonke,
a longtime arts and health researcher who is currently U.S. cultural policy
fellow with Stanford University. “If we don’t make access to the arts more
equitable, we’re doing harm.”"
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
