Blog
Dancing with Gratitude
An Attitude of Gratitude Our Kairos Alive! artist team, with help from our Dance Volunteers, led a KA! Dance Hall today to honor older adults at the East Side Neighborhood Services in Minneapolis. More than 160 people came to dance. Their many smiling faces were...
read moreKairos Alive’s Heart Connection
When I started creating programming for older adults almost 20 years ago my ideas naturally flowed from my creative dance work with children, families, schools and teachers. I began my work as a professional dancer and educator in the 1970's when I graduated from the...
read moreThe Kevin Washington Quartet Clip from an Intergenerational Dance Hall!
http:/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWWIuJMdvjg
read moreEnjoy this video of an Intergenerational Dance Hall™ at East Side Neighborhood Services!
Dancing is a great way for elders and children to connect. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVh-tVj5-W8
read moreKairos Alive!’s Intergenerational Dance Halls™ Provide Antidote to a Broken Elder Care System
Minneapolis, MN, March 19, 2018– In the wake of last week’s news about elder care abuse in Minnesota, astronomical long-term health care costs, and staggering statistics about the negative effects of living in isolation, Minnesotans may be looking for some way to...
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Maria Genné Featured on the Cover of Minnesota Good Age!
A Dancing Heart Meet Maria Genné, the charismatic center of the Twin Cities-based dance group Kairos Alive! ARTICLE BY: ROBIN SAUERWEIN, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 As a child, Maria Genné was always dancing. “I couldn’t sit still,” she said. “It has been such a life...
read moreGeriatric Nursing Researcher Kicks Off Minneapolis Creativity & Health Collaboration
Minneapolis, MN, May 1, 2017 – Kairos Alive!, a pioneer in participatory art and the creative arts and aging movement, in partnership with Centro Tyrone Guzman, are hosting a series of free all ages and abilities creativity and health programs, May 18th and 20th,...
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Volunteering to Make a Dancing Heart™
Much of the work we do at Kairos Alive! wouldn’t be possible without a dedicated core group of “Kairosian” volunteers. Our friend and regular volunteer, Alison, shares some of her thoughts on her experiences. "There’s a saying that goes something like, “If you want to...
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What Matters Most
We wrapped up a few sites last week - leaving all of us at Kairos feeling a bit heavy hearted and reflective. We wanted to share some pictures of important moments with elder friends from a memory care and assisted living - as well as thoughts from Maria. ...
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Kairos Alive! Featured in “Improving Community Vitality Through Elder Vitality”
Originally published on the Mardag Foundation's website, "Improving Community Vitality Through Elder Vitality" highlights Kairos Alive's work in Bemidji, MN during a multi-year Residency made possible by funding from the Mardag Foundation - an affiliate of Minnesota...
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Reach Out – Touch a Hand
“Reach out, touch a hand - make a friend if you can.” - The Staple Singers Last Thursday, when it seemed that all the news on the radio was about the next horror produced by human misunderstanding, I found a few hours of love and appreciation by dancing with elders...
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Dancing is About Moving
In an article originally posted on HowlRound in December, Maria Genné helped answer the question; where do older adults fit in to our world today? Today her insights form an important foundation for Kairos Alive! as we continue to dance, learn and grow. Dancing is...
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Love is it, huh?
In his New York Times column earlier this week, “The Building Blocks of Learning”, David Brooks references author Paul Tough’s new book, “Helping Children Succeed.” According to Brooks, Tough cites the work of researchers as he asks how we can improve students’...
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Recent Research Details Benefits of Kairos Alive! Program for Senior Housing Residents
At the core of Kairos Alive! programs lie years of research, evidence and practice. We strive to provide education through sharing up-to-date, verifiable and relevant research. This excerpt from “The Importance of a Creative Arts Program for Senior Housing Residents”...
read moreKairos Alive! to Facilitate Intergenerational Dance Halls
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kairos Partnering with Episcopal Homes and Midwest Special Services to host Participatory Arts Programming for Elders, Family Members and Caregivers MINNEAPOLIS – June 8, 2016 – Kairos Alive!, pioneers in participatory art and the creative...
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Dancing in Santa Fe, New Mexico
I love dancing with people. I always find that after the first, sometimes awkward moment, most people really love to dance. They just need to know that they are welcome, be assured that there is no “right” way to dance and experience a model that demonstrates that...
read moreParking Lot Memories
Just as writers need blank paper and painters need blank canvases, communities need accessible open space to gather and celebrate. Public dances are examples of active community-making art that manifests itself through the people themselves. Although these kinds of...
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An Unlikely Path for a College Intern
When I tell people I meet that my passion and current position involves dancing, singing and storytelling with elders and other under served populations, I tend to get a lot of perplexed looks. As a young Millennial with an almost-completed major in Arts Management,...
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