Dance, Ageing and Collaborative Arts-Based Research

Dance, Ageing and Collaborative Arts-Based Research contributes a critical and comprehensive perspective on the role of the arts –specifically dance – in enhancing the lives of older people. The book focuses on the development of an innovative arts-based program for older adults and the collaborative process of exploring and understanding its impact in relation to ageing, social inclusion, and care. It offers a wide audience of readers a richer understanding of the role of the arts in ageing and life enrichment, critical contributions to theories of ageing and care, specific approaches to arts-based collaborative research, and an exploration of the impact of Sharing Dance from the perspective of older adults, artists, researchers, and community leaders. Given the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of this book, it will be of interest across health, social science, and humanities disciplines, including gerontology, sociology, psychology, geography, nursing, social work, and performing arts. Licence line: Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

1. Introduction Rachel Herron and Mark Skinner 2. Canada’s National Ballet School and the evolution of Sharing Dance Rachel Bar and John Dalrymple 3. A creative collaboration in arts-based ageing research Mark Skinner and Rachel Bar 4. Critical reflections on arts for ageing, dementia, and health Rachel Bar and Pia Kontos 5. Advancing age and dementia-related social inclusion through Sharing Dance Rachel Herron, Sheila Novek and Verena Menec 6. Voices and lived experiences of Sharing Dance Rachel Bar, Margaret Dunphy, Rachel Herron, Ruth Snider, Whitney Strachan and Craig Wingrove 7. Challenging the culture of dementia care through Sharing Dance Pia Kontos and Alisa Grigorovich 8. Technological glitches and creative interactions in Sharing Dance research An Kosurko, Ilkka Arminen and Melisa Stevanovic 9. On the community dimensions and dynamics of Sharing Dance Verena Menec, Mark Skinner and An Kosurko 10. Future directions for collaborative arts-based ageing research Rachel Bar and Rachel Herron Coda: Sharing Dance with older adults during COVID-19 Sheena Campbell, Cassy Borth, Jenn Kairies and Jennifer Killing

Rachel Herron is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Brandon University, Canada, and the Canada Research Chair in Rural and Remote Mental Health. Rachel Bar is Director, Research and Health at Canada’s National Ballet School. Mark Skinner is Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Trent University, Canada, where he is also Professor of Geography.