“Dancing with the elderly is a party!”

In addition to her job at the bank, Marianne has been salsa dancing as a hobby for 25 years. Once retired, she knew: I’m going to do something with this as a volunteer! She ended up at the Dance Palace and Dance Connects. Moving and dancing with older people, in a fun way. To give them joy and a pleasant afternoon. “I have become much more social.”Marianne is simply Salsa: a cheerful, fit woman with a lot of red: headband, lipstick, nails, and cardigan. She grins as she tells how she got in touch with Het Danspaleis. “I once had a blind date with a man who was addicted to rock and roll. Despite my own salsa addiction, there was no connection between us, but he did point me to Het Danspaleis. The first time Marianne experienced this phenomenon herself was in the summer of 2019 at the Parade in Amsterdam. There she saw a group of elderly people dancing happily outside to music from the 60s/70s. “This is what I’m going to do as volunteer work,” she immediately thought.

The gas station of joy

Marianne is mainly active as a volunteer at the Dance Palace in The Music Salon. Here, a small number of elderly people are brought together in a neighborhood. “We decorate the space beautifully in a 1950s style. A real living room setting. And there is a DJ where you can request a song. The conversation quickly turns to music and the past. The step to a dance on the dance floor is quickly taken.” During the pandemic, the elderly are also encouraged to dance at home through a cheerful podcast series and a video series. And sometimes they dance on the balcony, in the courtyard, or on the street.

“I am good at starting the party”

Even the organization Dance Connects organizes many dance activities with the elderly. Marianne assists a professional dancer in her movement classes for mildly demented seniors. “We move on chairs and with light props, such as balloons and scarves. This way we stimulate the movements and brains of these people. I am good at starting the party and I always make a connection,” Marianne laughs. “That has really become a strong point of mine.”

Moving together creates connections

“What it has given me is that I have become much more social. That’s not something I learned at the bank. And you become attached, right? They are such lovely people with such personal stories. And for the elderly, exercise is incredibly important. Also mentally. And it connects. I actually think these kinds of dance movements should be included in the healthcare package for the elderly.”

Would you like to do volunteer work as well?

Here you will find an overview of volunteer tasks in Amsterdam. There are more than a thousand of them. For everyone’s talent and schedule.Search online or schedule an appointment with one of our mediatorsHello.Interview: Thecla Groot Koerkamp
Photo: Huub Zeeman