Kairos Dance Theatre

Kairos Dance Theatre (KDT), its Dancing Heart Program and Maria Genne are on the front lines of a change that I have no doubt will transform the care of our elders. Maria is a long-time practitioner of intergenerational dance and a master at using storytelling, music and dance to rejuvenate the heart and mind. Until recently KDT was Maria and everywhere that Maria went people came away moved and changed. Now with the development of the Dancing Heart program, Maria has created a model program that creates visible and significant change for physically and cognitively frail elders. I've watched as she introduced this program in a day health center for people with dementia and the changes in their social, emotional and physical well-being was astounding. We asked the University to help us measure this and they too found the change remarkable. The staff and families around these folks changed too...in so many ways. Two important national awards have been presented to Kairos for their Dancing Heart program and much attention and more opportunity is coming from everywhere. But in fact, Kairos is still a tiny organization that relies almost entirely on the hard work of a group of dedicated individuals with little or no compensation. We are ready now to grow Kairos and the Dancing Heart so that they can have the kind of impact and serve as an agent of change in the field of serving our growing and increasingly frail and isolated elders. Kairos is truly at the vanguard of arts programs that have evidence of their impact on the quality of life. They need to have a national and even international presence and they need a fully developed and responsive presence on the internet and through their web site. Maria and her team are ready to take this big step forward. I have been working with them on strategy and business development on a pro bono basis because I was so impressed and inspired by their work. They have soaked up and used well every bit of effort and guidance I have provided.

It's only been a short time that I've know of Kairos. I am amazed at the powerful work being done by a tiny team and such committed, passionate volunteers. The work this dance group does isn't just about dance...it's about communication from the heart between people of all ages...people who sometimes don't have the words to use to say what is important to them. Their work is a gift to any who get a chance to experience it. I am providing some volunteer services to help this extraordinary team to generate some visibility and dollars. It is an honor to work with people who are professional, who have integrity, who care about the larger picture of how our community, our country and how the world is doing...and they are doing something about making things better through the beauty of dance and communication.

I was really skeptical the first time I went to see Kairos. I'm used to professional dancers doing really polished performances (I worked for almost a decade at the Walker Art Center in community programs) so I was ready to be disappointed. So, I was SHOCKED by how moved I was by the work. I remember being floored by a dance between a young woman in her 20's and an 80 plus year old about love lost and remembered. The dance was to a Nina Simone piece. This has been five years since I saw that piece and it remains absolutely vivid in my mind. Moreover, this group is now being recognized nationally for the work it does with seniors. So, it is a good bet that the designers of the website are going to get some national attention too. When you think about our aging world and the absolute necessity to find vital and creative ways to age gracefully, you've got to recognize how important this kind of community engaged arts work is and will become. Also, the website right now is pretty Web 1.0 - If I were a designer I'd be salivating to make it better. And to echo a comment above, all of this is accomplished by committed volunteers and a founder who has given her all without real compensation for many years. You all would get a good karmic deposit for helping this group.

As an educator and historian (I am a Professor of Dance Studies at the University of Michigan) I believe that Kairos represents a significant, even crucial step forward in the world of the dance and the understanding of its significance not only to elders but to us all. HIstorically dances have not been just a form of entertainment, but an important means of community bonding in all cultures. With the advent of radio, television and the internet, too many are participating only passively in dance experiences (ie. they watch it, but don't do it. They leave that to professional dancers) However In Javanese dance, in Maori dance and in Western ballet as well as most other cultures, dance is a form of education in socialization, how you can best interact with your fellow human beings and is also an important teacher of life skills such as balance, agility, strength and mental alertness. Research has already shown and continues to show that dance, even the simplest kind, improves mental alertness and is as well as a significant inhibitor of depression. Kairos's research arm is already proving this. As the population ages and baby boomers enter retirement, we will have a crisis in care for the elderly. We need to find out effective ways of dealing with common age related diseases such as Altzheimers, loss of mobility etc. Kairos provides a model for how elders and young people can come together in a form which is not just boring exercise, but a form of creative expression that will enhance not only their physical but mental and emotional health. By participating in creative (not just "theraputic) activities they renew their sense of control over their lives and their confidence in their ability to create a work of art that brings pleasure to others.-(not just make lanyards to occupy them and keep them out of the way until they die) WHAT MAKES KAIROS UNIQUE? I'd also like to point out the difference between Kairos and the most well known of intergenerational dance groups -- (Liz Lehrman). Lehrman has a core of professional dancers and when she flys in to stage an event involving the community, they are usually given simple and repetitive movement tasks that are "add ons" to the dance as a whole. While Lehrman may hold a workshop to get movement ideas from the community, it is she, who develops and choreographs the movement and sets it on her own dancers. In one she did in Detroit, for example, the community participants stood up n the audience and "participated" with a series of hand gestures. Kairos dancers of every age are essential part of both the creation and performance. They are full fledged members of the troupe, absolutely essential to its existence and success. It is their particular way of moving that becomes part of the dance and as Kairos has shown in its many performances, that movement has real beauty and can be made into a fascinating, unified and entertaining work of art.

I'm proud to have danced in the same circle as both a motorcycle cop and a woman who picked 200 pounds of cotton a day as a girl.......at the same time! The work KAIROS does helps balance the hemispheres, both cerebral and global. Thank you for considering cyber-boosting this work.

I have been dancing with Kairos Dance Theater and have been a program artist with the Dancing Heart program for 5 years. Every monday evening I pick up Moses who is a 74 year-old stroke survivor for KDT's dance rehearsals. I watch in amazement as he playfully twirls around Sophie who is 8 year's old. Kairos is a template for what an intergenerational community can look like. Each Thursday I sit in a circle among 15 older adults with late stages of memory loss. We dance, laugh, and tell stories. Maria Genne's masterful guidance in this field has tapped a powerful "gold mine" in the arena of creative aging. As a young baby boomer I am proud to be a part of a team that is forging a new paradigm of arts and aging, whole brain activities, and respect for elders and thier wisdom. Kairos is now in a new growing edge--our vision is ready to be fully articuated--new website is the next step. Thank you for considering kDT!

I have been watching Kairos Dance Theatre's work for the past 8 years. As an artist in the same community, I find myself talking about their work to someone nearly every week. The deep commitment and integrity Maria and her volunteers bring to this work shows in everything they do. The most consistent feeling in their performances is joy. To see people from such distinct backgrounds, experiences, and ages get to co-create together brings "community" from an over-used cliche' into flesh and blood. I've been delighted to see their work with elders get the national recognition it deserves, especially in the form of the recent rewards as well as Maria's presentations at national conferences. A stronger web presence is just what is in order at this time in their development. They are stepping onto a larger stage. They are clearer than ever about the impact their work can offer an aging society. The research is confirming what they have known instinctively for years. I look forward to the time (in the very near future) when Kairos can spend the majority of their energy doing their great work with people and less on struggling to fund it. A great website is essential for making that transition.

Kairos Dance Theatre is a unique organization and it is very difficult to tell their story concisely and precisely. People who experience one of their intergenerational performances, a Dancing Heart Workshop, or a Kairos training are literally changed forever. A website that captures the spirit of the work and helps people understand the mission and vision of Kairos will help Maria Genne and the rest of the company bring their work to a broader community both locally and nationally. Thank you for considering adding your expertise to this broad group of beautiful people doing important work.

Kairos Dance Theatre is at the forefront of the healthy aging through the arts movement and serves as a model program for the country. Kairos’s outstanding work, presented at the National Arts and Aging: Creativity Matters Conference (November 2007), was celebrated by arts and aging organizations, policy makers as well as practitioners.

We started out as skeptics about the value of bringing a dance and story telling program to our Memory Loss Adult Day Health Program participants with moderate to late stage dementia. We quickly observed that many of our program participants came alive when the Kairos team was there with the Dancing Heart and TimeSlips programs! We now see these as core quality of life activities for our participants and are anxious to expand this wonderful work so that other older and disabled adults that Wilder serves can share these wonderful experiences.

Kairos Dance Theatre has been a great joy in my life. They welcomed me in as a dancer and a friend two years ago. The work they do is beyond amazing. The Dancing Heart program reaches out to frail elders in a very unique way through dance, music, and storytelling. I have seen dancing and laughing and sharing done by elders in which staff and their family members never expected of them. I have seen a group of elders come together very shy and hesitant about the "funny" way Maria moves and sings and gets their bodies warming up, yet within two weeks they are joining right in and love dancing and sharing with Maria and the other artists. Kairos Dance Theatre does work that doesn't just entertain, but also inspires and ignites peoples very own creative genius. I think that Kairos Dance Theatre would greatly benefit and be able to reach more people via the internet by having an updated website that is also connected to their thedancingheart.org url. Kairos needs this next step. Thank you!

Kairos Dance Theater is really unique in the way the work includes so much personal material from all its players. Using stories and personal gestures and bringing in the emotions inside human experiences makes this work accessible to all. I have seen this in the choreographed work in performances, and in the way Maria worked with my children when they took classes with her. Maria Genne, and the core of Kairos carry their reverence for being human into whatever they do. It is therapeutic for all ages, and particularly for elders who may feel "less than" in their vulnerabilities. So many people will benefit from learning about what Kairos Dance Theatre is doing! Thank you for hearing about Kairos!