Who We Benefit
55+ Active Adults
- Participate in Intergenerational Dance Hall™ or Dancing Heart™ events
- Dance with Kairos Alive! Performing Troupe™ all ages and abilities performing group
- Learn mambo, Latin, swing, waltz, schottische, folk, and modern dance
- Enjoy song, story and theater participation
- Discover the latest research about the physical, social and cognitive health benefits of Kairos Alive! programs
- Volunteer in community programs with seniors, children and youth
- Facilitate and connect others to these programs
It’s so wonderful to see [people] singing and dancing. I love when [participants] tell stories. They are so smart and have all this expertise that I would never hear about in my life, otherwise. This inspires me [to] trust and stay active.
Pam McDavitt
Youth & Adults with Disabilities
Proven highly successful with people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, our programs create breakthroughs for increased artistic, physical, and social involvement, and are inclusive of others with more conventional abilities.
- Participate in a Dancing Heart™ event at your day program
- Enjoy song, story, dance and theater participation
- Learn the latest research about the physical and social health benefits of Kairos Alive! programs
Kairos Alive! has come to work with 30 adults with profound disabilities (cognitive, physical) in an arts enrichment program that I helped design… [Kairos Alive!] is a pioneer in arts access for people with all manifestations of diversity. Whenever I am there to facilitate a reflection between artists and staff at the end of the day, invariably staff and artists relay stories of breakthrough moments
Nadja ReubenovaHealthcare & Social Service Providers
Kairos Alive! Choreography of Care™ arts and health programs are custom designed for you and the people you serve, and can positively change family and organizational cultures.
- Involve staff in our Moving Well™ 16-hr training
- Host Community Arts and Wellbeing™ Residencies that include Moving Well™ training, Intergenerational Dance Hall™ events, and other events with collaborating partners
- Promote health benefits i.e. increased strength, balance and coordination; reduced medications and doctor visits; and improved mood and memory
- Improve relationships and involvement with client families
- Build/deepen staff leadership development and satisfaction
- Leverage these cultural and health benefits for marketing and recruitment efforts
Elders with Alzheimer’s, Dementia and Other Cognitive Impairments
- Participate in a Dancing Heart™ program at your care center
- Enjoy song, story, dance and theater participation
- Learn the latest research about the physical, social and cognitive health benefits of Kairos Alive! programs
- Sustain cognitive functioning longer
The hardest part has been watching [my husband] become someone he isn’t; changing from being happy-go-lucky to someone angry at losing parts of himself. But, [he] enjoys the Dancing Heart™. He loves the energy of the music, and they get him up and moving around. When he comes home after a session, he is much calmer, more relaxed, and more ‘with it’; his mind is sharper.
Wife of participant diagnosed with Alzheimer’s DiseaseYouth & Families
Participate in intergenerational Intergenerational Dance Hall™ events. Venues for our performance events have included Loring Park, Minnehaha Park Bandshell, Cowles Center for Dance, Saint Catherine University, Walker Art Center, Minnesota Children’s Museum, and many elder care and community centers.
- Dance with Kairos Alive! Performing Troupe™ all ages and abilities performing group
- Be inspired by the life experiences, stories, dance and song of elders and others in this intergenerational setting
- Build meaningful relationships with elders and others within a positive, creative and artistic community
We worked with [Kairos Alive! and] the YMCA…to get the intergenerational component…it was very effective…It was great to see the kids so interested…It was so cool to see the kids value the elders [and vice-versa].
Emilie VolkmanMy 10-year-old daughter and I came to your program based on the recommendation of a friend and boy are we glad we did!! There is too little community interaction in the U.S. This was a great way to meet new people and have fun together! Dance on! Thanks!
Minnesota participantMy children [ages 3 and 5] need to be with elders in this way!
Minneapolis participantThis program is the best thing that has happened here.
Veteran participants of Dancing Heart™It’s so much fun. You just want to get up and move around.
Veteran participants of Dancing Heart™It gives us camaraderie.
Veteran participants of Dancing Heart™In the six years I’ve been [volunteering] here, I’ve never seen the men so active and engaged!
BillVeterans
- Participate in Dancing Heart™ and Intergenerational Dance Hall™ programs
- Enjoy song, story, dance and theater participation
- Learn the latest research about the physical, social and cognitive health benefits of Kairos Alive! programs
- Share your life experience to mentor and guide younger people
- Find more hope, energy and enthusiasm
Family Care Partners
- Participate in Dancing Heart™ and Intergenerational Dance Hall™ programs
- Learn the latest research about the physical, social and cognitive health benefits of Kairos Alive! programs
- Discover new strategies for interacting with and supporting your loved one
- Discover new strategies for self-care, and healthy family and community life
- Advocate for your loved one and these programs
Service Learning
Kairos Alive! offers formal and informal service learning opportunities for children, youth and university students interested in social services and integrative healthcare. This is ideal for dancers in training and other performing artists. Past examples of service learning opportunities include:
- Saint Paul Adam’s School 4th grade outreach with cognitively impaired elders at Shalom Home
- Minneapolis Barton School collaboration with Walker Methodist Home
- High School gifted and talented youth with Fairview Ridges, Burnsville, MN
- Red Wing Correctional Facility included in year-long residency at Fairview Seminary Home, Red Wing
- University of Minnesota Medical School students with our Veterans program for a project on touch
- Winona State University students in collaboration with our Community Arts and Wellbeing™ Residency at Winona Health
- Numerous St. Catherine University students have based their master’s thesis in the collective work of Kairos Alive!
All Kairos Alive! programs are handicap accessible.
