'Valued at every single age': Organization uses dance and performance to unlock well-being

As a college student, Lancaster resident and veteran Gladys Lawrence took a beginner's ballet course, but when the term came to an end, she didn't enroll in the next-level class, feeling that she lacked the confidence to move forward with her skills. She never got the chance to present all she learned before an audience.

Years later, Lawrence, now 65, stumbled upon a dance class at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as part of its "Whole Health" approach to supporting veterans’ health and well-being, and she found herself on the stage performing a full-length contemporary dance show the next year.

“It reached the point (where) I’m not only no longer afraid to dance in public, but I like it,” Lawrence said. “I get energy from the crowd. And I never thought I’d say that.”

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This fateful class was offered in partnership with Perennial Movement Group, a group dedicated to creating opportunities for adults over 50 to get involved in dance through performances and classes. This was Lawrence's gateway into dancing with The Perennials, the organization’s performance ensemble.

For co-directors Sarah Ramey and Chloe Napoletano, this energy and creative confidence is what they hope to nurture in their students and performers. Today, with the help of a team of teachers, the organization offers weekly lessons in dance studios and retirement communities all across the city, including a program for those living with Parkinson’s.

Promoting physical well-being through movement was a key goal since the beginning, but Napoletano and Ramey also recognized a special side effect of gathering: community and belonging.

Along with built-in time for snacks and socializing after lessons, dancers often gather for monthly outside-studio hangouts, like movie nights and potlucks.

“I remember everyone brought dishes — it was not about dance; we just all happened to know each other from a dance setting,” Napoletano said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘This is why we're doing what we're doing.’ This gathering and being outside of the dance studio is so important.”

When they noticed that dancers expressed interest in building shows together for the stage, they formed The Perennials. Since then, the ensemble has grown to 13 members.

Beyond an exercise in creative risk-taking, to put something before an audience is an envisioning of possibilities, Ramy and Napoletano said. For The Perennials, their dance and mere presence on the stage becomes a message.

“Part of the reason I think performance can be really powerful is because we can put something onstage that maybe is not existing in our lives yet,” Ramey said.

“When we put it onstage, it expands our imagination to say, ‘What does it look like if everybody in our community is valued at every single age, with every level of movement ability? What does it look like if we're all onstage together, creating something in a way where each of us are valued?’”

Most recently, The Perennials collaborated with dancers in the community for the show, “Glad You’re Here,” featuring three works choreographed and performed by local dancers spanning generations, from ages 18 to 85.

Part of the show’s design, and the Perennial Movement Group’s, was to challenge preconceived notions of dance and what it might look like. This is the appeal of contemporary dance, Ramey said. A broad genre, it allows for a more liberal and personalized understanding of movement as expression.

In lessons or rehearsals, dancers are encouraged to make modifications or variations made to the movements, but the dancer’s choice to do so doesn’t compromise its artistic integrity, Ramey said.

“They're artists. They went their whole lives and maybe didn't identify that way,” Ramey said. “And now they're committed to taking classes, to being part of a rehearsal process, to performing, and they want to grow as artists. They're not in a stagnant place. They want to keep growing, and I really want to be like that when I'm in my 60s and 70s. I want to be excited about taking risks.”

Lawrence, who had to get a knee-replacement surgery just months before the performance of “Glad You’re Here,” said these modifications actually enhanced her capacity for artistic expression.

Confined to rehearsal in a chair, she said she searched more deeply inwards rather than relying on her own strength. When she was able to get back on her feet, she found her passion flowed through her effortlessly.

“As you get older, the body does change, but we can use new skills in different ways,” Lawrence said. “We adapt. I think all older people need to know that, wherever you are. I think it's good for us to know that we can still grow. And so when people look at The Perennials, it encourages them.”

To learn more about the Perennial Movement Group, lessons and pricing, which are designed to be as financially accessible as possible, check out their website at perennialmovementgroup.com .

elim@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Valued at every single age': Organization uses dance and performance to unlock well-being