Published: March 28, 2025
Walk by the Kendal at Oberlin Fitness Center on a Friday afternoon and you’ll see about 20 Oberlin College students and Kendal residents dancing and moving playfully to music and prompts as they laugh and chatter.
It’s called “Creative Movement,” but the Oberlin Dance Company college course is as much about building an intergenerational community as it is about physical movement, the organizers say.
“My first intergenerational performance work started in Chicago ten years ago. I’ve worked with dance companies, theatre companies, and performance makers to develop programs and shows that create these types of dual opportunities into community making and research. When I interviewed at Oberlin and found out there was a retirement community near campus, I knew there was potential for a fruitful collaboration between students and Kendal residents,” says Al Evangelista, Assistant Professor of Dance and Comparative American Studies.
Resident Mary Joy Leaper agrees. “It’s interesting to return to the college milieu at age 81; the students are wonderful and a delight to talk with,” says Mary Joy, the Kendal organizer.
Backstory of the intergen program
In the spring of 2024, Al collaborated with Jill Tvaroha, Wellness Coordinator, to offer a one-hour creative movement session at Kendal to gauge interest.
In the fall, Al returned for about half a dozen sessions that culminated in an act included in a dance showcase at Oberlin College. Mary Joy and Kathy Hazelton danced with two students while a poem written by Kendal resident Judi Bachrach was projected and played as a soundtrack.
In February 2025, the college credit course began meeting for an hour every Friday afternoon at Kendal. Three performances are being planned: one at Kendal on April 21 and two at the college, May 2-3.
After a warm-up, Al offers simple and creative ideas, instructions and prompts, such as create a movement that reminds you of summer or someone you really appreciate. Often a student and a resident work as a pair, mirroring each other.
“You can express with any body part you like – fingers, elbows, legs, eyes, tongue – while either sitting in a chair or standing up,” says Mary Joy, adding, “Al tells us to go into our inner dance studio to discover the movement before actually trying it.”
The music is usually beat or vibe, occasionally classical.
For Mary Joy, the class is a return to dance after a brief introduction 55 years ago. “I joined a creative movement group at the Friends Meeting House in Palo Alto, California in 1970 and I remember what a great experience it was,” she says.
The experience is great again, she says, but different. “I like to laugh, and this is the perfect place to express my sense of humor,” says Mary Joy, who uses a rollator to walk and dances sitting down.
Another participant is Judi Bachrach, a dance-theater major, dancer, choreographer and movement instructor. “I love, love the class. It’s like a grown-up playground,” she says.
Feedback from students has been positive too. “Students are loving the interactions with Kendal residents. They’ve noted dance movement they thought was possible is changing because of these classes,” Al says.
Al and Mary Joy hope to continue this intergen collaboration beyond the spring performances.
“I’m not sure how much more performing I will do, but I really like the one-hour gatherings. They’re so stimulating and fun,” Mary Joy says.
Says Al, “Every Kendalite has been an inspiration, and I leave every class grateful for the opportunity to do this kind of work.”
