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Description of initiative
"Dancing Together" is a project where preschoolers and seniors meet through dance and movement.
During 2024 and 2025, dance gatherings was organized in several municipalities across the county of Uppsala where preschoolers in the age of 4-5 regularly visited seniors at day centers or nurcing homes to share the joy of dancing. The main part of the seniors had dementia or another type of cognitive impairment. The sessions were led by an experienced dance instructor, and each occasion had a special theme, such as "helping each other" or "circus." After dancing, the groups came together for a shared moment with coffee, fruit and conversation, creating space for connections and memories across generations.
The project is based on the idea how dance and movement strengthen the body and are important for our health. Social settings and meaningful encounters are valuable for both young and old, creating a sense of community and participation. Their hope is that the initiative will continue and inspire ongoing collaboration between child and elder care services.
One of the projects led to the creation of a crafting corner, where children and seniors continued to meet even after the dance sessions to create, paint, and craft together. This spontaneous continuation highlights the value of creating natural meeting places where culture can serve as a bridge.
Dancing together is a collaboration between Region Uppsala and Uppsala, Tierp, Östhammar, Knivsta and Håbo municipality
Themes: Culture and...
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Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
Some of the results shown by the project include:
- The groups became more comfortable with each other after a few sessions.
-It was positive that we kept the same group members throughout, allowing relationships to form.
-Engagement and interest are not always visible in either children or seniors. Some participants prefer not to interact and are content just being present in the room. It’s important to allow this and not force interaction. Participants can experience a sense of community without needing to actively interact.
- Participation must be voluntary. Choose participants based on interest, not just because they are in the same department or live on the same floor in a care home.
- It’s important to have a similar structure for each session so the participants feel familiar and comfortable. However, mixing in new elements helps maintain interest.
- Children and older adults act at different paces. Sometimes different dance steps are needed for the same song depending on the group. One example is when the children walked into the center of the circle to collect balls and place them in “baskets” formed by the older adults’ arms.
- There are many shared experiences between the groups. “Occupations” was a popular theme—children shared what they wanted to be when they grow up, and the seniors talked about their past professions.
- Both groups were very good at being present in the moment.
- Starting a collaboration between a preschool and a nursing home through a structured project with a leader, etc., is a great way to begin. However, even without funding, much can be achieved simply by meeting and doing simple activities together, led by the staff. But it's important that the staff show engagement and participate along with the prescholers and the seniors.