In Brittany, retirees move their hips thanks to this dance therapist

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Marlène Warck is dance therapist. Once a month, on Thursday at 11 a.m., she goes to theEhpad Missilienin Quimper (Finistère). For an hour, with around ten residents, she dances, sings or plays instruments. “The point is to make them work on memoryteach them to live in the present moment by dancing and singing spontaneously,” she describes.

Here is what it looks like:

A mix of her two passions: dance and care

For more than twenty years, Marlène Warck was nurse in South Finistère. From 2007 to 2009, she followed a DU in dance therapy in Paris. At the same time, she learned the method ofexpression primitive of France Schott-Billmann.

“It’s a technique based on rhythm. By working on organic rhythm with pulsations or breathing, we recreate the atmosphere of a baby in its mother's womb. So we really follow the principles of child development.”

She now combines her two passions: care and dance. “For a long time, I used my training at the hospital or with migrants in Quimper”, recalls Marlène Warck.

After leaving her job as a nurse in 2023, she began working as a dance therapist in leisure centersof the hospitalsof the medical-educational institutes and Ehdd.

Effects on daily life

Since September 2023, she has been working at the Missilien nursing home. And employees notice a difference in residents:

“In the long term, we see the effects on a daily basis: appeasement, relaxation, self-esteem. They regain confidence and learn to let go through music, dance and bodily expression.”

The dance therapist even notices changes during a session:

“Claude, for example, arrived very closed, with a fixed gaze. Then he opened up and at the end, he came away smiling. So we see that it has a concrete impact on their well-being.”

And the residents leave this session delighted. “It feels good,” says Josette. For Martine, it was a little more complicated: “I had forgotten a lot of things.” And Marie-Annick? “I loved playing the instrument.” But the most expressive of all is Pascal, who exclaims: “Thank you Marlène”

Practical information.Contact: Roots workshop for wings, tel. 06 95 90 41 08.

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