Carnegie Mellon University

School of Music

Where artistry and innovation share center stage

Sheet Music

April 07, 2011

CMU TO HOLD EURHYTHMICS WORKSHOP

Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Monday, July 04, 2011

The Carnegie-Mellon School of Music will hold a set of workshops this month to train music teachers and students in a movement method that research says is particularly beneficial for older adults. Sessions for seniors will start this week.

Known as Dalcroze eurhythmics, the method was developed about a century ago by Swiss composer Emile Jaques-Dalcroze. It connects music, movement, mind and body. Students listen to the rhythm of a piece of music, and express what they hear through movement.

Dancing can help seniors keep mentally sharp, and reduce the likelihood of damaging falls, according to a study published last year in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Dalcroze is expected to give similar benefits, based on a study of 134 seniors in Switzerland. Study participants who took a weekly hour-long Dalcroze class for an entire year increased their walking speed and stride length and had fewer falls than the group who had six months of classes.

The Carnegie-Mellon School of Music has the only university-based Dalcroze training center in the country. Beginning Monday, it will hold two workshops for music teachers. The first runs July 11-15; the second, July 11-29. The cost for the first workshop is $800. The cost for the second is $1,950. For more information, or to register, phone 412-268-2391, or send an email to: music-dalcroze@andrew.cmu.edu.

Annabelle Joseph, director of the training center at CMU, also is seeking seniors 65 or older to take part in a follow-up to the Swiss study. It will be conducted in four 11/2-hour sessions on July 6-7 and July 13-14; the registration fee is $60.

For more information, or to register, contact Ms. Joseph at 412-268-2391 or aj12@andrew.cmu.edu.

Read more by Clicking Here.