The Dancing Through Difficulty project is an online MFA thesis/service project by MFA Dance candidate Michaela Neild, offering integrated arts programming for adults 50 years and over. The mission of the Dancing Through Difficulty project is to provide accessible artistic experiences for aging adults that promote self-discovery, address health disparities, and transform our local communities. This project explores the body as a toolbox for building individual and community wellness through movement exercises (or embodied tools) which practice life skills for navigating the turbulent and uncertain future of our ever-changing world. Throughout the project, members engage in weekly dance classes and monthly workshops in creative writing, poetry, painting, collage, and music skills.
What to Expect:
This hour-long event will display various artworks made by project members, demonstrate activities and exercises from our weekly dance classes, and conclude with a Q+A session. Attendees are asked to register in advance and are welcome to submit questions for project members. Questions will also be accepted during the event by using the chat feature.
About Michaela:
Michaela (she/they) is a graduate student at the Ohio State University earning a Master's degree in dance with a minor in nonprofit studies. Michaela specializes in social justice education and integrates her experience as a certified Pilates instructor into her teaching of dance in community-based settings. Her classes focus on guiding participants toward developing their own artistic voice while finding connections within the community. Simultaneously, her classes assist participants in practicing physical and mental alignment, mobility and stability, motor skills and coordination, as well as balancing strength and flexibility to age both creatively and independently. Michaela’s mission is to use art and movement in ways that promote health, wellbeing, and social value in the communities she engages with.
The Dancing Through Difficulty project is generously funded by the Albert-Schweitzer Fellowship, the Vera Blaine Special Project Fund, the Graduate Research Small Grant, and the Helen Alkire Dance Fund. For more information about the project, visit www.dancingthroughdifficulty.com or follow us on Instagram at @dancing_through_difficulty
