This month, we invite you to welcome four new teaching artists into the DanceStream Projects team, learn about our inaugural teacher training, reflect with us on the first season of the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast, and join us for the launch of Season Two.

Above all, we invite you to dance with us—whether in person or online—in spaces where we practice the simple, powerful act of being in a group body together.

Our guest today on the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast, Helen Bundy Medsger, has dedicated her life to changing this reality. Transmuting decades of partnership in care to three family members living with Lewy Body Dementia, she is a passionate advocate across research, clinical, public and policy spaces, paving a way forward and building community along the way.

Together, we discuss the role of lived experience experts at every stage of the dementia care journey, reflect on lessons learned from a lifetime of advocacy and envision a future where all those who receive a diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia are met with clarity, community and hope.

In the first episode of Season 2, we open with a conversation rooted in reflection, personal story, inspiration, and hope for new beginnings. This episode returns to the core intention behind the podcast—exploring the early seeds of impact we hope it is cultivating and sharing our evolving vision for where this work is headed next.

Our guests for this episode are Szewah Chin, communications expert and journalist, and Hilary Brown-Istrefi, dancer and choreographer. Drawing from their personal stories, practices, and perspectives, they articulate a shared vision forward and underscore the vital need for more conversations that bridge what may seem like disparate fields—but are, in fact, deeply interconnected: the arts, neuroscience, and community.

Our senses are one of the primary ways in which we encounter, interact with and make sense of the world around us. But what happens when our sensory perception begins to disintegrate and transform? And how might engaging through the arts help us heal and better understand these conditions?

May this year ahead fill your days with joy and light! May you to continue to discover the gift of dance in your life and may it bring health and wellbeing to each new day.

This month, we invite you to take a moment to reflect on and celebrate all that we have accomplished together alongside you this year and join us in bringing new ideas and dreams into action. Stretch into the edge of the (un)known to cultivate a sense of inspiration, meaning and wellbeing alongside our latest podcast episode with Dr. Vessel. Read about our latest research paper which synthesizes the evidence on the impact of dance on brain health for individuals living with dementia to inform decision-making and future practice.

And of course, we always welcome you to join us online or in person to dance with us and find your own rhythm of connection!

This month, dive into the theme of creativity and brain health by learning about the premiere of a new play, UnRavelled about a real life story of how the process of brain change due to dementia resulted in emergent creativity and expression through visual art. Tune into a conversation with Dr. Farina, on how collaborating with lived experience experts is challenging her own creativity and as a result, leading into innovative research in underserved areas of neuroscience, including young adult brain health.

Finally, check out virtual and in person classes this Fall/Winter and join us in boosting your own creativity through dance!

Our guest on the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast is Dr. Edward Vessel, a neuroscientist who uses behavior, brain imaging and computation to study the psychological and neural basis of aesthetic experiences, creative insight and curiosity.

We discuss how neuroaesthetics research is helping us understand the way the brain responds to art, beauty and creativity and how these findings can inform future practice to improve brain health and wellbeing across our life.

In this month’s issue we invite you to celebrate the role of the arts in brain health with us: dive into the UNGA Healing Arts Week celebrations, check out highlights from our culminating event with the RSS Adult Day Program for Memory Loss and listen to Mark Timmons, artist, advocate and person living with dementia reflect on the role the arts play in supporting dignity and purpose for people navigating a diagnosis of dementia.

Young adulthood and the potential brain health risk factors they face are largely neglected in dementia research and policy making despite this demographic being highly exposed to several known modifiable risk factors. Globally, the potential risk and protective factors that have the biggest effect on dementia outcomes in young adulthood remain unclear.

On our latest episode, neuroscientist and Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health Dr. Francesca Farina highlights the importance of partnership with young adults to spearhead initiatives that inform and support brain health across the life span.

Our guest on this episode of the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast is artist and dementia advocate Mark Timmons. He has channeled his own lived experience, as someone diagnosed with early-onset dementia in his late 40s, to influence his ongoing advocacy work with people newly diagnosed with dementia.

Together we discuss the ways we can support nurturing a new sense of purpose, agency and meaning and how engaging in creative expression supports brain health and a new identity when navigating the experience of dementia.

Check out highlights from our culminating celebration with the New York Memory Center and join us in preparing for the United Nations General Assembly Healing Arts Week

In this episode, we are joined by neuropsychologist and researcher, Dr. Kaitlin Casaletto. Together we discuss the latest research on how engaging in physical activity can protect our brains as we age and explore new avenues of research and practice on the horizon.

Celebrate World Brain Day, join us for upcoming dance and brain health events and learn about our new “Community of Practice”!

In this month’s issue, read about NYC older adults coming together “Raising their Voices”, join us in celebrating Pride with LGBTQIA+ elders who paved the way and learn ways researchers and community organizations are coming together to ensure this community receives the services they deserve as they age.

Our guest this episode is cognitive scientist Dr. Helena Blumen. Dr.Blumen is one of the leading researchers investigating the trajectories of modifiable risk factors of the brain in aging and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

In our conversation, Dr. Blumen highlights the strong interconnections between our motor, social and cognitive abilities and how addressing any of these benefits our brain health as we age.

In this month’s issue, we visit Lima, Peru where I joined global leaders this May, to share best practices in brain health and dementia research and identify next steps for our respective and collaborative initiatives.

In this episode, we are joined by dancer/researcher Dr. Aline Haas whose passion for dance and health has spearheaded initiatives that are addressing the many ways dance can enhance brain health as we age. Together, we inquire how can access to and research on dance and health be more equitable?

Dr. Glenna Batson, is one of the leaders who helped place the conversation of embodiment, neuroscience and dance on the map. In this latest episode of the “Dancing into Brain Health” Podcast, we  investigate the roots of these fields of study and explore how their interconnections have inspired some of the work in dance and neuroscience we see today.

This Earth Day, join us in embracing awe and wonder for our planet, our communities, our brains!