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Exploring Our Creative Side


Engaging in Community Arts Brings Unexpected Rewards


by Judith Fertig


“Turning, moving, spinning, dresses swirling, music beating, eyes in contact with a partner, then another, then another, then another, and the fiddle turns a corner, the phrase repeats, the dance repeats. You smile. Your body smiles.”


~ Doug Plummer, photographer and contra dancer, Seattle, Washington


T


hree years ago, Janine Joslin, a savvy business ex- ecutive, set her sights on becoming a Dazzler, and today is a proud member of the Leawood, Kansas, chapter of community tap- dancing troupes. “I love to dance and perform, and I felt that had been missing from my own life,” she says. After a friend suggested it, Joslin showed up for her first practice ready to go, wearing tights and tap shoes.


Potential Dazzlers must prove they’ve learned the rou- tines before being selected to perform for the public. Luckily, says Joslin, “I’m a quick study,” and soon took her place in this 50-and-up women’s group that likes to routinely Shuffle Off to Buffalo at area retirement facilities, church halls and special events.


Learning the stop-and-go, Broad- way-style routines such as Steppin’ Out and Millie is more of a mental challenge than aerobic exercise, comments Joslin.


34 Collier/Lee Counties


“The main thing is it exercises your brain.” Performing for appre- ciative groups is a great feeling, she notes, and helps make the twice-weekly practices worth- while. Just being


around inspiring women has helped Joslin look at aging differently. She’s now applying her business skills to set up her troupe’s first website.


Joslin’s experi- ence proves what many dancers, art- ists, writers, actors and musicians know: Active, hands-on, group participation in the arts is benefi- cial on many levels.


National Trend In a recent study commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Ben- efits of the Arts, the researchers found that, “People that engage in arts in a


swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com


group setting develop a sense of com- munity as they exchange favors (such as meeting to learn lines or loaning painting supplies); identify themselves with a cast, music ensemble or choral group; and develop a sense of trust and expectations of reciprocity.” It also noted, “Through the arts of ethnic traditions—such as classical Indian dance, Jamaican steel drums or Japanese raku ceramics—participants develop and maintain their cultural heritage and communicate their cul- tural identity to outsiders.”


Gateway Experiences Most art disciplines can be experienced at any age. No previous training or abil- ity is required, just a curious spirit and willingness to participate and learn. Fun options range from a painting party, in which par- ticipants set up an easel and paint a canvas at Uncork’d Art, in


Washington, D.C. (Un- corkdArt.com),


to African drumming at DrumRise, in Decatur, Georgia (DrumRise.net). “A drumming class is a great way to reduce stress, have fun, relax and reen- ergize, all at the same time; it has even been shown to positively affect your immune system,” say co-founders Amy Jackson and Colleen Caffrey.


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