September 2026 Edition: A Season of Connection, Possibility & Growth
Photo credit: Nuria Rius
Dear friend,
Each September, communities around the world come together for World Alzheimer’s Month —to raise awareness, challenge the stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and remind one another that behind every diagnosis is a person, a story, and a life that continues to unfold.
This year’s theme, “The Earlier You Know, The More You Can Do,” speaks to the importance of timely diagnosis and the doors it can open to treatment, care, support, planning, and connection. But for me, it also raises a larger question: What becomes possible when we move beyond a diagnosis and make space for the whole person?
At DanceStream Projects, this question is at the heart of our work.
We believe people living with dementia are not simply recipients of care. They are dancers, storytellers, artists, partners, teachers, friends, and community members. They have ideas, preferences, histories, humor, creativity, and agency. And when we create spaces where those things can be expressed and shared, something powerful happens: we discover what remains possible.
This month has given me many opportunities to reflect on that possibility - and on the growing community and infrastructure that make this work possible.
Growing our capacity, together
I am delighted to share that DanceStream Projects has been selected as one of 36 nonprofit arts organizations across New York State to participate in the 2026 NYSCA/NYFA Community Arts Leaders Program, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts with support from the New York State Council on the Arts. This free program provides technical workshops and individualized consulting to help organizations strengthen their capacity and build for the future. As DanceStream’s programs, partnerships, and community continue to grow, we are excited to invest in the leadership, systems, and organizational foundation that will help sustain and deepen our work. We are deeply grateful to NYFA and NYSCA for this opportunity to learn alongside community-rooted arts organizations from across New York State.
Learning across disciplines and communities
As faculty mentor at the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, I had the privilege this month of learning and sharing alongside students from 37 countries—people committed to bringing the arts and medicine together to advance health and wellbeing. We explored dance as a tool for creative aging and lifelong brain health, and I was reminded once again that the conversation about health becomes richer when we invite many disciplines, cultures, and perspectives to the table.
That spirit of connection also runs through the latest episode of our Dancing into Brain Health Podcast, where I spoke with Dr. Victor Valcour of the Global Brain Health Institute about stewarding a global community of leaders and moving from a mindset of scarcity toward one of possibility, collaboration, and collective action. As an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, this conversation felt especially meaningful to me—and deeply connected to why DanceStream exists.
And then there are the moments that happen right here in our own communities.
At the First Presbyterian Church Fall Festival, dozens of neighbors came together to dance, laugh, connect, and spark their brains with a little brain health trivia. These moments may seem simple, but I believe they are anything but. Joy is meaningful. Connection is meaningful. Curiosity is meaningful. Belonging is meaningful. Together, they help create communities where healthy aging can be something we actively cultivate—not simply something we hope for.
Many Stories, One Dance
And now, we are preparing for a very special moment of our own.
On October 1, we will gather at Flushing Town Hall for Many Stories, One Dance, DanceStream Projects’ first gala. It will be an evening to celebrate the people who have shaped this journey, the communities who continue to dance with us, and the possibilities ahead.
When I think about the title Many Stories, One Dance, I think about everything that has brought us here: the stories shared in our dance programs, the stories of people living with dementia and their care partners, the stories of our community partners, artists, researchers, fellows, volunteers, donors, and friends—and the many stories that are still waiting to be told.
Dance gives us a way to meet one another in the present moment.
It gives us a language beyond words. It invites us to listen, to imagine, to move, and to create together.
This September, as we shine a light on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia around the world, I am especially grateful for the growing community that believes there is more to discover, more to create, and more ways to belong.
Thank you for being part of that community.
Whether you dance with us in a class, listen to the podcast, share our work, partner with us, volunteer, or simply believe in a world where people can age with creativity, connection, dignity, and agency—you are part of this movement.
Many stories. One dance. One growing community.
With gratitude and hope,
