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.

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