AileyDance for Active Aging

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About
Inside a Residency
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Past Participants
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About

AileyDance for Active Aging offers older adult dance classes that support strength, balance, and flexibility, providing cardiovascular and cognitive stimulation. This program also offers opportunities for participants to share their life stories and express them through movement.

This residency, created specifically for older adults in community centers and residential facilities, is designed to promote movement that can prevent injury due to inactivity or isolation, while encouraging participants to engage their imaginations and express their creativity. More than a fitness program, AileyDance for Active Aging serves as an outlet for artistic expression where participants generate choreography and cultivate their imaginations, building a greater sense of community and social engagement.

See what AileyDance for Active Aging is like in three 20-minute sample classes presented by AARP. All that is required is a love of movement!

Watch Sample Classes

Inside a Residency

Strong communication between Ailey Arts In Education staff and the staff of our partner organizations to ensure success for all participants
Ongoing assessments to garner feedback from participants and administrative staff
A life filled with creative engagement
The belief that dance is for everyone

AileyDance for Active Aging residencies are for the following communities in older adult community centers and in residential, independent, and assisted living facilities for older adults: 

Adults age 50+ with and without caregivers
Individuals with dementia and their caregivers

Initial planning with Ailey Arts In Education staff
A planning meeting with the Ailey Teaching Artists and the administrative staff of the older adult center or residence
A series of weekly dance classes (60 or 90 minutes) that become an outlet for artistic expression which cultivates one’s imagination to express personal life stories
A culminating presentation with an invited audience of family and friends
Opportunities to see live performances
History and background about Alvin Ailey and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Classes consisting of a warm-up; a progression of stretching, strengthening, and dance phrases that cover a variety of movement qualities; and a cool-down
Movement modifications for participants with mobility or balance challenges
Visual and auditory support for participants as appropriate
An introduction to basic dance elements and choreographic structures
Verbal, written, and auditory prompts for movement to engage the imagination and stimulate memory and life stories
Learning and creating movement phrases that allow for emotional expression and storytelling
A playlist of participant-suggested musical selections
Opportunities for caregiver and family engagement

AileyDance for Active Aging program at Rodney Kirk Center, NYC

Booking

Booking a Residency

Interested in hosting a residency for the older adults in your community? Reach out and we’ll work with you to tailor a residency that fits your needs.

Past Participants

Organizations that have hosted an AileyDance for Active Aging program in the New York City metropolitan area.

New Settlement Community Center
R.A.I.N. Tolentine Older Adult Center

80th Street Residence, Upper East Side
Carnegie East House, Yorkville
CaringKind NYC connect2culture program
Goddard Riverside Older Adult Center, Upper West Side
James Lenox House, Upper East Side
NYU Langone Health Family Support Program
Penn South Program for Seniors, Chelsea
Project Find Hamilton Senior Center, Upper West Side
Rodney Kirk Center at Manhattan Plaza, Midtown
Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center, Yorkville and East Harlem
Union Settlement Senior Center, East Harlem

City of Newark, Office of Senior Services: Senior Centers, Residences

JASA Brookdale Village Older Adult Center, Far Rockaway

AileyDance for Active Aging

AileyDance for Active Aging workshop at Rodney Kirk Center, NYC Photo by Max Guliani

Group of people dancing with arms raised in a bright room. Two men in the foreground, wearing matching red shirts that say Flam Riley, lead the group. One man’s name tag reads Aaron. Participants of various ages and backgrounds follow their movements, smiling and enjoying the activity. A piano is visible in the background.

AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop with Participants in the NYU Family Support Program Photo by Nicole Tintle

AileyDance for Active Aging program at Hamilton Older Adult Center, NYC

AileyDance for Active Aging workshop at Hamilton Older Adult Center, NYC Photo by Cara Buchanan

AileyDance for Active Aging workshop at Rodney Kirk Center, NYC Photo by Max Guliani

An elderly woman with a name tag reading Madeline is smiling and dancing with two leaders wearing red shirts that say Flam Riley. One leader's name tag reads Aaron. They are all laughing and enjoying the moment. Other participants are seated in the background.

AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop with Participants in the NYU Family Support Program Photo by Nicole Tintle

Group of people dancing with arms raised in a bright room. Participants include seniors and younger individuals, all following the movements of leaders in red shirts. The leaders' shirts say Flam Riley, and one leader's name tag reads Aaron. Everyone is engaged and enjoying the activity.

AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop with Participants in the NYU Family Support Program Photo by Nicole Tintle

Group of people dancing in a bright room. An elderly woman with white hair and glasses, wearing a black outfit and scarf, is holding hands with a younger woman in a gray shirt and jeans. The young woman's name tag reads Maria. Other participants, including a woman with a name tag reading Guadalupe, are visible in the background, all smiling and dancing.

AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop with Participants in the NYU Family Support Program Photo by Nicole Tintle

Seniors participating in an intergenerational dance party with the NYU Family Support Program. A man named Norman, identified by his name tag, dances in the foreground, while other participants, including women named Reba and Shirley, smile and clap in the background. The room is bright and filled with natural light.

AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop with Participants in the NYU Family Support Program Photo by Nicole Tintle

Seniors participating in a seated dance class at Carnegie East, raising their arms and smiling. Some participants are standing while others remain seated, all engaging in the movements. The room has a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

AileyDance for Active Aging at Carnegie East Photo by Nicole Tintle

A group of seniors participating in a dance class at Penn South, led by an instructor in a purple Ailey T-shirt and colorful skirt. The seniors are smiling and actively engaged in the dance movements. The room is bright with overhead lighting, and some attendees are seated, watching the demonstration.

AileyDance for Active Aging Percussion Lecture Demonstration at Penn South Photo by Nicole Tintle

SPONSORS

AileyDance for Active Aging is generously sponsored by AARP.

AileyDance for Active Aging is made possible, in part, with support from Love, Tito's.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with New York City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Julie Menin, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

NYC Cultural Affairs and Council on the Arts logos

Just looking for a class?

If a residency isn’t quite what you’re looking for, join a 8-week Active Aging workshop series or explore other classes for adults all offered through Ailey Extension.

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TueMar 10