Community dance
Communities making dance in Tasmania
Tasmanian Regional Arts (TRA) is leading The Dance Project in partnership with Mature Artists Dance Experience (MADE), Bust a Move and Tasdance.
This community dance project is happening in three Tasmanian regions—the North East, North West and the South—to develop and present three new contemporary dance works with, by and about communities. Evolving from the heart of each community, these works explore place, kinship and identity as experienced by the residents of these regions.
2013 Caroline Plummer fellowship in community dance
The Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance is open to any New Zealand or international community dance practitioner, teacher or researcher. Applicants need not possess a university degree or diploma, any other educational or professional qualification, or belong to any association or organisation of dancers.
Deadline for applications: 1 June 2012
More evidence that dance benefits the elderly
There are some startling new figures that support dancing as a protective strategy in preventing dementia. A Stanford University report Use It or Lose It: Dancing Makes You Smarter makes the following comparisons:
... almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
- Reading—35% reduced risk of dementia
- Bicycling and swimming—0%
- Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week—47%
- Playing golf—0%
- Dancing frequently—76%.
The same university offers other insights into the benefits of dance in Thoughts, philosophies and musings on social dance, a useful reference for community dance practitioners in Australia.
New research with dance and the elderly
New research by the University of Western Sydney is demonstrating that folk dance has clear benefits for the health of the elderly. You may have missed this great report from the ABC’s 7.30 program on 4 January.
We’re very interested in research that proves the links between dance and health, and have been in touch with the researchers to find out more. We’ll keep you posted.