Dance therapy students visit nursing home

Even though many residents of the Cedar Lodge Nursing Home in Center Moriches are confined to wheelchairs, they were still able to clap, shimmy and tap their feet to salsa music being played in the facility on Monday afternoon.

The 30-minute session, organized by dance therapist Linni Deihl of Quogue, was part of a 10-day dance therapy intensive course that was attended by four women hailing from four different cities—Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Florida, and Columbia, Missouri.

The program, which began on December 27 and concluded Tuesday, required that the four women—Cynthia Fuhrer, Heather Harkess, Anika Sawant and Mercedes Jijena—role play, learn different therapy methods, and journal their experiences to earn credits toward either their undergraduate or graduate degrees in dance therapy.

Dance therapy is a way of healing a variety of mental and physical problems through physical movement, according to the American Dance Therapy Association website. Locally, the four student dancers attended class at the East End Dance Studio in Speonk.

During their dance therapy session held at the Cedar Lodge Nursing Home, the four women made their way around a circle of some 30 senior citizens, engaging them in careful and limited movement. A few of the senior citizens were able to get up and dance, while others managed to stretch their arms up and in the shape of an arc, moving them from side to side.

“I love it because it’s something different,” said nursing home resident Mabel Wilson, who danced in the center of the circle with Ms. Fuhrer. “Jazz is my favorite music.”

Following the dancing session, Ms. Fuhrer, who works as a show girl in Las Vegas, explained that she was surprised at the mobility of some of the nursing home residents. She noted that their limited movement poses a challenge while trying to connect with senior citizens through dance therapy.

“You have to constantly encourage them,” Ms. Fuhrer said about working with senior citizens.

Ms. Deihl explained in a discussion session after Monday’s visit that her students should try to gently touch the faces of senior citizens while dancing with them and, at the same time, maintain eye contact. “It creates immediate empathy,” Ms. Deihl added.

The four dancers in the program took a few moments to explain what attracted them to dance therapy—a form of treatment that is not yet well-known in public circles.

Ms. Harkess, who hails from Los Angeles and works as a nanny, notes that she has always used dance “as a form of healing.”

Meanwhile, Ms. Sawant, who hails from India but is pursuing her master’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Missouri, said she is interested in dance therapy because she wants to “connect the body and the head.” She is also trained in Indian classical dancing.

As for the senior citizens at Cedar Lodge, most seemed to be receptive of the new therapy. As Ms. Sawant twirled nursing home resident Nina Werpachosky around while the salsa music played, 102-year-old Ellen Nichol looked on and began dancing while sitting in her wheelchair.

“I like doing this for the action,” Ms. Nichol said. “It keeps the blood moving, and if that keeps going, I keep going.”