“That which cannot be spoken can be sung. That which cannot be sung can be danced.”
Channeling creativity to enhance person-centered community for people living with dementia
STORIES IN THE MOMENT™ is an evidence-informed program that combines dance, movement and storytelling to shape a creative environment where participants can share their voices, move their bodies and build creative community.
Stories in the Moment™ is built on the principle that all of us, regardless of our modes of cognition, have stories to tell and that we all have the means to tell those stories. People living with dementia inevitably experience shifts in their modes and capacities for expression which influence their ability to express and feel connected to the communities around them. The tools and framework of Stories in the Moment™ mobilize all of the ways we connect and communicate, through sound, music, imagery, touch and imagination to explore connections between movement and meaning. Together we bring our minds and bodies together to build stories in the moment.
By engaging our bodies as instruments of communication, we create resources that we can use to amplify our voices and to create new avenues of connection.
Read more about Stories in the Moment!
Stories in the Moment was featured in In Dance Summer 2022 edition!
Check out the article here or read the digital edition here or download a printable version of the article here.
In Dance is a publication of Dancers Group, who promote the visibility and viability of dance in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you to guest editor Rowena Ritchie for the invitation!
Stories in the Moment was featured in the Queens Ledger and Forest Hills Times!
Thank you to Jessica Meditz for the beautiful article highlighting this phenomenal community!
Check out the article here or read the digital edition here.
The partnership of Stories in the Moment with Queens Community House Social Adult Day Services was featured in this beautiful article by Jessica Meditz! Thank you for helping us rewrite the narrative of how we view the experience and contribution of people living with dementia!
Meet our partners! Join our programs!
JOIN US!
Here are some ways you can connect with us right now!
All programs are FREE for participants. All are welcome!
ONLINE
Stories in the Moment [VIRTUAL] Dementia Action Alliance
Thursdays, every other week, 2:00-3:00pm ET
April 7, 21; May 5, 19; June 2, 16, no class June 30; July 14, 28; August 11, 25; Sept 8, no class Sept 22; Oct 6, 20; Nov 3, Nov 17
Contact magda@dancestreamprojects.com or visit the Dementia Action Alliance website to join the class!
Stories in the Moment [VIRTUAL] Queens Community House - Social Adult Day Services
It’s an honor and delight to announce that Stories in the Moment was awarded a Flushing Town Hall Artists in Queens Grant to offer a series of programs in Queens at Queens Community House- Social Adult Day Services in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens this Summer 2022!
We are looking forward to offering virtual and in person activities. Please stay tuned as the in person activities are finalized. For now, registration for on line activities is open.
Meet and Greet - Meet Magda and Learn more about Stories in the Moment
Friday, April 29, 1:30-2:30pm ET
Stories in the Moment - Online on Zoom at QCH Social Adult Day Services
Friday, May 6, 10:30-11:30am ET
Monday, May 9, 10:30-11:30am ET
Friday, May 20, 10:30-11:30am ET
Monday, May 23, 10:30-11:30am ET
Friday, June 3, 10:30-11:30am ET
Monday, June 6, 10:30-11:30am ET
Friday, June 17, 10:30-11:30am ET
Tuesday, June 21, 10:30-11:30am ET
Friday, July 15, 10:30-11:30am ET
See the flyers for April/May and June/July programs in the links below:
April/May Flyer for Stories in the Moment at Queens Community House
June/July Flyer for Stories in the Moment at Queens Community House
Stories in the Moment - Online Culmination on Zoom at QCH Social Adult Day Services
We are wrapping up this wonderful 3-month series with an on-line celebration:
Friday, July 22, 2022
Space is limited. Please contact us to learn more and RSVP.
Stories in the Moment - Welcoming Sessions In Person at QCH Social Adult Day Services - Kew Gardens Community Center
We are meeting for a joint program of Stories in the Moment with QCH Social Adult Day Services and Kew Gardens Community Center for two sessions in July and August!
CHECK BACK FOR TIMES
SPACE IS LIMITED - CONTACT US TO RSVP
Contact Wendy at Queens Community House at 718-592-5757 ext. 230 or email magda@dancestreamprojects.com to learn more and register.
This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.QCH Social Adult Day Services funded in part by NYC DFTA and NYSOFA.Stories in the Moment [VIRTUAL] Queens Community House - Social Adult Day Services
It’s an honor and delight to announce that DanceStream Projects was awarded a 2022 Queens Art Access Grant through the Queens Council on the Arts to offer a series of Stories in the Moment programs in Queens at Queens Community House- Social Adult Day Services in Forest Hills and surrounding areas this Fall 2022!
We are looking forward to offering virtual and in person activities.
We launched our series with a Brain Health Salon on August 29, 2022 and were delighted to welcome participants from a variety of fields and locations as together we connected around the topics of dance, creativity and brain health.
We also offered a series of Stories in the Moment classes online:
Summer Splendors - Fridays in August 5-26, 2022
Greeting Autumn - Fridays in September 2-16, 2022
Autumn Stories - Fridays in October 14 - November 4, 2022; Mondays November 28 & December 5th
To register and learn more contact magda@dancestreamprojects.com or call Wendy at Queens Community House Adult Day Services at 718-592-5757 ext. 230.
All welcome!
To join this free program, register with Queens Community House Social Adult Day Services
by calling Wendy at 718-592-5757 ext. 230
or by email: magda@dancestreamprojects.com
We loved connecting with you to Greet Autumn!
Join us now for more on-line programs happening October - December 2022!
All welcome!
To join this free program, register with Queens Community House Social Adult Day Services by calling Wendy at 718-592-5757 ext. 230
or by email: magda@dancestreamprojects.com
Download and share the flyer by clicking on the image to the left.
IN PERSON
Mindful Connections in partnership with Stories in the Moment [IN PERSON]
@ The Rubin Museum of Art
The Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
Join us at the Rubin Museum of Art for a 3-month series of Mindful Connections in partnership with Stories in the Moment™.
Mindful Connections is a free monthly program that offers engagement between adults living with dementia and works of art. Stories in the Moment is a co-creative movement-based program that is designed to stimulate creativity and imagination. Each month, join docents from the Rubin Museum and dance artist, educator, and researcher Magda Kaczmarska, to connect using dance, movement, and storytelling to explore artwork from the Rubin Museum collection. Together, we will make connections between movement and meaning.
Mindful Connections in Partnership with Stories in the Moment: From Memory to Wisdom
Thursday, April 14, 2022
2:00-3:00pm ET
In this mini-series in partnership with Stories in the Moment™, we explore the Scent library in the Rubin’s new installation, the Mandala Lab. Together, we will learn about Buddhist practice as we dive into our senses and traverse the journey from memory to wisdom.
Mindful Connections in Partnership with Stories in the Moment: From Tension to Harmony
Thursday, May 12, 2022
2:00-3:00pm ET
This session, we return to the Mandala Lab, this time to witness the Gong Orchestra. Inspired by the spectrum of our emotional experience, together we will create movement conversations that guide us from tension to harmony.
Mindful Connections in Partnership with Stories in the Moment: From Dissonance to Integration
Thursday, June 09, 2022
2:00-3:00pm ET
For the last meeting of our series, we extend our exploration to artwork outside the Mandala Lab. These pieces amplify the concept of practice and healing. Inspired by centuries of practice, we will co-create our own movement meditation guided by the individual and collective stories that move us from dissonance to integration.
(In Person - Pre-Registration is Required - contact magda@dancestreamprojects.com or call 917-336-9018 if you have any questions or require assistance in registering)
Mindful Connections in partnership with Stories in the Moment [IN PERSON]
The Rubin Museum of Art @ The New York Memory Center
The New York Memory Center
199 14th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
We are delighted to bring Mindful Connections in partnership with Stories in the Moment™ to the New York Memory Center!
As part of the partnership of Mindful Connections with Stories in the Moment™, join Maggie Woolums, Coordinator of Accessible Programs at the Rubin Museum of Art and dance artist, Magda Kaczmarska, as together we explore the Scent library in the Rubin’s new installation, the Mandala Lab, through dance, movement and storytelling. Together, we will learn about Buddhist practice as we dive into our senses and traverse the journey from memory to wisdom.
Mindful Connections in Partnership with Stories in the Moment: From Memory to Wisdom
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
11:00am-12:00pm ET
Please contact the New York Memory Center at 718-499-7701 for more information.
Meet our team
Magda Kaczmarska (she/her/they/them),
founder & lead-facilitator
Magda Kaczmarska created Stories in the Moment inspired by the community of people living with dementia and their care partners and in ally-ship with the Dementia Action Alliance.
She is honored to bring over 20 years of experience in community-based dance to connect with and amplify the expressive voice of people living with dementia in the United States and beyond.
Photo credit: Ben Hoyt
Maura McDonagh (she/they),
program coordinator
Maura McDonagh is a second-year Neuroscience PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley. In May 2020, she earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering with a double major in Communication Arts (Radio/TV/Film) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When not in the lab, she enjoys hiking, doodling, reading, and snuggling her cat. She is excited to join Stories in the Moment to work with families living with dementia and learn how the creative self can be unlocked through movement.
Photo credit: ©Shoey Sindel Photography
Sloka Iyengar,
qualitative researcher, evaluation consultant
Sloka Iyengar is a neuroscientist and Bharatanatyam practitioner, from Ahmedabad, India, and now living in New York City. She believes that science and arts can alleviate suffering. Her passions lie in the power of science and arts to change the world for its most vulnerable populations, and the importance of communication to effect that change. Sloka is interested in utilizing Bharatanatyam, especially its narrative and storytelling aspects to reach wider audiences.
Photo credit: Michael TanksleyLearn more about what people are saying about Stories in the Moment™:
Forget-Me-Nots Choir
Meeting (and hearing) the Forget Me Nots in person for the first time at Creative Brain Week, Dublin, Ireland
A surprise dance and song with the incredible Forget-me-Nots after “Bring Me Sunshine!” Dance Party, Feb 5, 2021.
“I’m all full of vibration, rise and fall and every other word we used!! Loved every minute of Magda. ”
A room filled with joy after a virtual session all about holiday bakes with the Forget Me Nots choir with guest Mike Hanrahan.
“I was dropping in shopping around 5:30pm and mam and dad (Paddy and Patty) were showing us their moves . . . they had great fun. Oh they loved it. I remember as a young girl they always danced in the kitchen.”
PSS Circle of Care
“Your style was warm and inviting, and your leadership energetic and imaginative. I appreciated it especially during these covid times that are so stressful for everyone. Your [program] was a gentle and welcome experience, a reminder to me to feel grounded and hopeful for better times ahead. ”
Dementia Action Alliance
“Magda radiates kindness, makes each session fun and is a great leader . . . Movement is so important to maintain for people with dementia and Magda understands how to motivate us.”
“Bob and I have both loved Magda’s Zoom experiences! This has particularly been effective in helping Bob, who is almost nine years into his Alzheimer’s journey, to connect with community using his mind and body.”
“You are doing a fantastic job with this program. I know you notice how well everyone is participating. Our residents thoroughly enjoy their time with you. I love the way you can get people to move. However, I think it is the personalization that makes the experience extra special.”
