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Time to Thrive: For people living with dementia and their carers

Presented by Geelong Arts Centre with Jessica Lesosky

MOVE | CONNECT | JOIN IN

A Celebration of Movement, Artform, and Wisdom
Building connections and resilience through dance, empowering all to thrive.

Time to Thrive Dance is a gentle, expressive 6-week dance/movement program designed to support people living with dementia at home and their carers. It nurtures body-mind awareness in a safe, inclusive, and joyful environment where participants can connect, move, and share moments of creative expression.

Tailored specifically for people living with dementia, the program embraces adaptive movement, creative dance-making, and the deep link between movement and memory. Each session honours individual abilities and stories, creating connection and community through shared artistic experience.

What to Expect:

  • Inclusive & Adaptive Movement: Classes are designed specifically for people living with dementia, offering options to move at a comfortable pace—standing or seated.
  • Engaging Exercises: Sessions begin with follow-along warm-ups to gently prepare the body for expressive movement exploration, learning dance sequences accompanied by instrumental music and familiar songs from different eras.
  • Physical & Cognitive Benefits: Activities focus on improving strength, mobility, balance, hand-eye coordination, memory support, and musicality. Dance stimulates neuroplasticity, encouraging the brain to form new pathways that support memory and cognitive function.
  • Guided Exploration: Led by experienced Dance Movement Therapist and facilitator Jessica Lesosky, participants are encouraged to explore movement in a way that enhances confidence, body awareness, and creative expression.
  • Supportive & Social Environment: A welcoming and joyful space to connect with others, while uplifting mood and overall wellbeing. Engaging in group dance can create a sense of belonging, helping to reduce loneliness and social isolation, which is a major factor in cognitive decline.

Time to Thrive Dance offers a holistic and fulfilling movement experience for people living with dementia, celebrating the power of dance to connect, inspire, and empower.

REGISTER HERE

Jess Lesosky

Jessica is a Canadian born dancer, performer, and dance/movement therapist. She trained with the National Ballet of Canada and then moved into contemporary dance working with Toronto Dance Theatre. She now lives and creates on Wadawurrung Country. Jessica has a graduate Diploma from RMIT in Visual and Performing Arts (Dance/Movement Therapy) and works creatively and clinically as an Allied Health Assistant in community health services across Victoria’s Barwon Southwest.

Jessica was a founding member of Blink Dance Theatre 2013. She worked as Performer, Creative Director, and Producer for the company for over 10 years. She had the opportunity to lead the company as Artistic Director in 2023 and co-created and directed critically acclaimed work, Ravens at Boom Gallery in November 2023. She has an extensive career working and collaborating with artists across multiple disciplines, fueled by her passion for play and creative process. Jessica is currently designing and delivering Performing Arts workshops for all abilities communities in Victoria and NSW.

Jessica’s arts practice and work is to support people’s creativity, mobility, connection to each other, communication and social skills. Her workshops are designed to enhance participants' capacity to build and collaborate better relationships underpinned by the value of being seen. The creative connection between body, environment, and community. Jessica is an experienced workshop facilitator, teacher, and performance maker. Her practice spans across movement therapy consultation, teaching and delivering performance-making intensives supporting artists and participants through engagement, communication, and a safe space to trust the process, and share ideas.

Her practice is activated by exploring creative risks and experimentation, how her arts practice intersects with or is extended by cross disciplinary collaborations. Our relationships: A celebration of movement, artform and wisdom.

J Lesosky head shot image Campbell Cole Photography

DATES AND TIMES

Mondays 11am – 12pm
From 11 August to 15 September

LOCATION

Studio 2, Geelong Arts Centre

AGE RANGE

60 and over.

COST

Free event

Tickets are free but registration is required.

WARNINGS

Please wear clothes comfortable to move in and shoes safe for movement.