Falling on Your Feet: Dance and Holistic Wellness in Later Life

This article considers role of dance participation in holistic, later life, health protection. A bi-weekly, 12 week, exploratory, ways to well-being, dance intervention ‘Falling on your Feet’ was designed and managed by X Arts organization and choreographer X and funded by the National Health Service (NHS) England. It reports on findings from the qualitative evaluation that ran in parallel with the programme. Key questions focused on self-reported value of dancing maintaining a healthier and socially connected older age. The intervention attracted 38 community dwelling people aged 65 years and over, 32 of whom consented to the evaluation. Discussion groups, short telephone interviews, observations, a public performance and professional dancer feedback, captured participants’ self-reported benefits. Participants knew the importance of maintaining and improving strength and balance in later life and reported a range of positive impacts on their physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing. They valued co choreography, acquiring the confidence to find their creativity and express this through dance, with group and paired dancing adding to social connections and emotional expression. Particularly striking were their positive expressions of self-ownership, selfpossibility and positive future self well into older age. The findings warrant objective investigations into self reported, positive impacts of dance on strength and balance, social and emotional loneliness and overall self efficacy in later life. ‘Falling on your Feet’ connected with the human scale of health promotion.