What is Senior Embrace?

Senior Embrace is made up of two components: a performance program and a hands-on movement workshop. The company aims to visit 30 retirement homes in the St. Louis area and beyond each season with the performance program, and 3 locations with the workshop component.

Performance Program: The Big Muddy is dedicated to presenting the highest quality dance performance at all times, which includes Senior Embrace performances. The Senior Embrace repertoire is selected from the company’s full repertory archives, all of which has been performed on the stage. The repertoire tends to reflect music, costumes, and movement styles that trigger memories of earlier years for the senior generation, and those which the audience members will recognize and appreciate.

The company dancers present a 35-45 minute performance in the retirement home’s communal area, and talk to the residents a bit about the company. After the show, the dancers spend about 15 minutes visiting with the residents and exchanging stories and experiences. Feedback from staff, families, and seniors show that the performances and conversations with the dancers leave the residents with a great sense of contentment and excitement, and the feeling continues several days/weeks after the experience. Qualitative evaluations have shown improvements in mood and recollection of older memories, closer connections between seniors and their caregivers, and increased vigor in movement.

Workshop Program: After several years of planning and research, The Big Muddy is proud to announce the implementation season of its hands-on movement workshop component of Senior Embrace. A pilot program was conducted at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Care & Conquer Conference in 2013, and then the program was reformed and re-conducted at Garden View Care Center in Chesterfield in December 2017. The program was filmed with volunteers in April 2018 with the objective of obtaining footage for research approval. With a dedicated research team of specialists in the fields of gerontology, nursing, senior care, and programming, The Big Muddy is planning to conduct a research study on the effects of dance and movement on seniors with early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease and to report its findings for the scientific field to utilize moving forward.

Some research has been implemented on the effects of music, visual art, and theater on the brain but dance has not yet been fully explored. Since dance and choreography are expressed through all three learning channels (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic), it seems logical that it would have success in communicating exercises more than programs that only utilize one learning channel at a time. The 4-part workshop program offers some performance by the company and discussion around what the participants see, as well as hands-on exercises and breakout groups to create sequences of movement, rhythm, and sequencing. Layered with emotional expression, the exercises create a vibrant and artistic experience for the participants and let them see how professional concert dance is created behind the scenes. Each workshop is followed by a training session for retirement home staff members to continue daily movement exercises with their residents and to educate the staff on the importance of music and movement to overall health and quality of life.