Classes let participants step up moods, physical health

They're simple steps leading to major leaps.

The men and women who attend Creative Movement class twice a week Nevada Senior Services' Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas are in step to a healthier life, officials hope.

Instructors from the UNLV Department of Dance and the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre lead the dance, which is the second wave of a 24-week study of stimulation and its health benefits.

At a recent Friday morning class at the Centennial Hills center, 901 N. Jones Blvd., clients gathered in a semicircle and waited for showtime.

Return participant Tracy Jones was near giddy perched in her chair waiting for the music and movement to start.

"It's fun," she said. "I have a bad back, and it helps my back. It's like a massage that makes me feel strong."

When instructor Richard Havey warmed up the room with a "brain dance," the energy of attendees shifted, and clients on the fringes of the semicircle were joining in.

"I see that they're willing . It's just a matter of getting them able to do the material," said Havey, affiliate associate professor from the UNLV Department of Dance.

Last month, the center was awarded $7,000 by MetLife Foundation Creative Aging Program to offer the sessions. They are designed to "help the participant unleash the inner dancer, relieve stress, improve balance, memory and connect with others."

The center will utilize an evidence-based research model through the grant for program evaluation and as a tool to assess its impact .

In simpler terms, the sessions help clients avoid falls, learn new sequences of movement, improve spacial skills, oxygenate their blood and up their moods, said Nevada Senior Services' Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas executive director Jeffrey Klein.

"What we discovered, people with disability and memory loss, as they age, the depression scales get out of hand," he said. "(The creative movement class) is a phenomenal thing to see. The lights come on. The gray goes away. Smiles get bigger and you feel a real sense of accomplishment."

The center tested a couple of dozen clients in the first wave of the program and found that rates of functional capacity rise.

There are 38 clients, ranging in age from 29 to 99, signed up for the current program, but anyone present during class time can participate , said Diane Hart, clinical social worker for the center.

"With the program, it's social but it's stabilizing," she said. "Structure is stabilizing."

Havey provides an energetic hour of activity that includes seated drills and simple standing routines. Staffers get involved.

Arts and activities director DeeDee Woodberry bounced along, "blowing stars" and "reaching and growing" with the clients scattered around. She said Havey and fellow UNLV instructor Sandy Runkle make her feel just as energized.

"He's got to be the best instructor for this age group," she said. "He stays in the moment. Nothing rattles him."

Havey has been working with seniors for about seven years, and he believes these sort of programs should be offered in all dance centers.

"I know it's hard because funding is the crucial element here," he said. "I really believe there needs to be a physical element to these kinds of assisting living centers."

The center was one of 12 organizations to receive the grant. The movement class also is offered at the Henderson location, 1201 Nevada State Drive.

Nevada Senior Services' Adult Day Care Center of Las Vegas welcomes walk-ins, but there is an admission process. Many clients are referred from medical professionals.

For more information, visit nevada seniorservices.org, adultdaycarelv.org or call 648-3425.

Contact Centennial and Paradise View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.