Logo image
Back
More Than Just Movement: Exploring Embodied Group Synchrony During Seated Dance for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care Communities
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

More Than Just Movement: Exploring Embodied Group Synchrony During Seated Dance for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care Communities

Blake Toohey, Marie Hutchinson and Gail Moloney
Journal of applied gerontology, Vol.43(6), pp.657-669
06/2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648231214946
Appears in  Recent Faculty of Health Publications
pdf
More Than Just Movement: Exploring Embodied Group Synchrony During Seated Dance for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care Communities831.95 kBDownloadView
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0,  Open Access
url
More Than Just Movement: Exploring Embodied Group Synchrony During Seated Dance for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care CommunitiesView
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0,  Open

Related links

Metrics

3 File views/ downloads
54 Record Views
2 Times Cited - Web of Science

Abstract

dance music aged care communities embodied cognition synchrony older adults Dance and dance studies Aged health care Health psychology Health related to ageing The performing arts Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
One in six people in Australia are aged over 65, with many older adults currently living in residential aged care communities (RACC). Fostering meaningful human connection through social activities, such as dance, is imperative to maintain or improve the quality of life in these settings. Drawing from an embodied cognition framework, this mixed-methods study explored synchrony during a seated dance program with 15 older adults living in a RACC. Qualitative video content analysis was used to code movement, language and music cooccurrences, resulting in five group synchrony labels. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was then employed to distil ten higher-order forms of embodied group synchrony. Using existing neurocognitive evidence, we detail the therapeutic and interpersonal implications of the most prominent forms of embodied group synchrony. These findings can be used to choreograph therapeutic forms of embodied group synchrony in dance programs with older adults.

Details

Logo image