Shows
Dancing into Brain HealthAdvocacy in Action w/ Helen Bundy MedsgerDementia in an umbrella condition defined by a change in brain function that affects daily activities. Dementia can be caused by a number of underlying pathologies, but despite extensive advances being made in diagnosis and understanding of some forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, those navigating other forms of dementia are still frequently met with a very different experience, one of misdiagnosis and lack of support. Lewy Body Dementia is the second most common form of progressive dementia, yet for the estimated 1.4 million individuals living with Lewy Body Dementia in the US and...
2026-02-021h 20Dancing into Brain HealthDancing into Reflection with Szewah Chin and Hilary Brown-IstrefiWe launched the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast out of a desire to hold space for conversations that expand our understanding of the role dance can play in supporting and sparking brain health. By bringing together leading researchers, doctors, artists, lived-experience advocates, and thought leaders, the podcast builds new bridges between neuroscience, community practice, and the arts.In the first episode of Season 2, we open with a conversation rooted in reflection, personal story, inspiration, and hope for new beginnings. This episode returns to the core intention behind the podcast—exploring the early seeds of im...
2026-01-0751 minDancing into Brain HealthDancing Through The Senses with Dr. Anusha Yasoda-MohanOur senses are one of the primary ways in which we encounter, interact with and make sense of the world around us. But what happens when our sensory perception begins to disintegrate and transform? And how might engaging through the arts help us heal and better understand these conditions?Our guest on the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast is Dr. Anusha Yasoda-Mohan, a perceptual neuroscientist whose work illuminates the ways our sensory perception influences our brain health and how using the arts may build pathways toward healing for those living with neurodegenerative conditions.
2025-12-221h 04Dancing into Brain HealthNeuroaesthetics and the Brain w/ Dr. Edward VesselHow do we perceive beauty? How can engaging in art and the pleasure we elicit from it help us make sense, meaning and inspire us toward action in our daily activities? Can the experience of pleasure and beauty through the arts strengthenour health? Our guest on the Dancing into Brain Health Podcast is Dr. Edward Vessel, a neuroscientist who uses behavior, brain imaging and computation to study the psychological and neural basis of aesthetic experiences, creative insight and curiosity. We discuss how neuroaesthetics research is helping us understand the way the brain responds to a...
2025-10-2952 minDancing into Brain HealthPartnering with Youth to Spark Brain Health w/ Dr. Francesca FarinaThis World Alzheimer’s Month, we engage in a topic that is largely under-addressed – youth brain health. Public health recommendations encourage a life course approach to brain health and dementia prevention, however much of the public discourse, research and interventions around these topics center middle and late adulthood. Young adulthood and the potential brain health risk factors are largely neglected in dementia research and policy making despite this demographic being highly exposed to several known modifiable risk factors. Globally, the potential risk and protective factors that have the biggest effect on dementia outcomes in youn...
2025-09-2853 minDancing into Brain HealthDancing into Dementia Advocacy w/ Mark TimmonsA strong sense of purpose and meaning is increasingly recognized as having extensive health benefits. Recent studies illustrate the correlation of a strong sense of purpose and meaning in life to promoting better outcomes after a stroke and being associated with a decreased risk of dementia. For many people who receive a diagnosis of dementia, the pervasive narratives which exist in public discourse paint the experience of dementia as one-note, characterized solely with tragedy, loss and deficit. These narratives around dementia inadvertently influence how people who receive a dementia diagnosis perceive their own agency...
2025-09-0453 minDancing into Brain HealthPhysical Activity and Cognitive Aging w/ Dr. Kaitlin CasalettoPhysical activity is one of the key actions we can introduce into our lifestyles producing significant benefits on our lifelong health. Researchers and public health officials advise that engaging in physical activity across the life course influences our health in multiple ways from prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improving overall well-being. When considering brain health and cognitive aging, the Lancet Commission lists physical activity as one of the 14 modifiable risk factors that contribute to lifelong reduction of dementia risk...
2025-08-0856 minDancing into Brain HealthPhysical Activity and Cognitive Aging w/ Dr. Kaitlin CasalettoPhysical activity is one of the key actions we can introduce into our lifestyles producing significant benefits on our lifelong health. Researchers and public health officials advisethat engaging in physical activity across the life course influences our health in multiple ways from prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes, reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improving overall well-being. When considering brain health and cognitive aging, the Lancet Commission lists physical activity as one of the 14 modifiable risk factors that contribute to lifelong reduction of dementia risk by...
2025-08-0856 minDancing into Brain HealthDancing Towards Connection w/ Dr. Helena BlumenRecent focus in global research on brain health has emphasized modifiable risk factors which at various points in our life positively influence our brain health trajectories. In fact, as highlighted by the Lancet Commission, we know that approximately 45% of adverse brain health in the form of dementia could be mitigated by 14 risk factors across our life. Much of this research embraces the understanding that our brains are plastic (malleable) and that the actions/inactions we take, our social and physical environment and our biology all work together to support our cognitive aging. It also centers t...
2025-06-241h 04Dancing into Brain HealthAmazonian Dance for Parkinson’s w/ Dr. Aline HaasDance is a powerfully beneficial activity for people living with Parkinson’s Disease. Initially emerging into academic literature in the late 1980s, with a study comparing the impact of dance movement therapy and traditional exercise on the movement symptoms of people living with Parkinson’s Disease, this dance and health approach has inspired numerous studies offering a robust platform for the field. Despite popular awareness about the impact of dance for Parkinson’s Disease increasing, much is still unknown about the specificity of impacts for diverse communities and well as the mechanisms of how different dance forms support domains of bra...
2025-05-2958 minDancing into Brain HealthMoving Toward Embodiment w/ Dr. Glenna BatsonHow do we define embodiment? How does the study of neuroscience and dance inform practice and vice versa? How might engaging in these inquiries translate into better quality of life for all of us as we age? In today’s episode of Dancing into Brain Health, our guest is dancer/researcher Dr. Glenna Batson whose multi-decade long career has aligned dance with critical somatic education, human movement science, embodied cognitive neuroscience and neuro-rehabilitation. To learn more about Dr. Glenna Batson, visit her website www.thfold.net or follow her on LinkedIn: https...
2025-05-011h 09Dancing into Brain HealthFrom Body to Narrative w/ Dr. Adolfo GarciaWhich comes first – understanding of action language or the action itself? How are our abilities to describe actions linked to our ability to enact them? In today’s episode of Dancing into Brain Health, our guest is neuroscientist and neurolinguist Dr. Adolfo García whose research is uncovering the neural mechanisms behind motor-language coupling and how this understanding can help individuals who are living with neurodegenerative conditions. To learn more about Dr. Adolfo Garcia, visit his website: https://adolfogarcia.com.ar/ or follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ado...
2025-03-2851 min
Dancing into Brain HealthDancing into Speech Improvement w/ Dr. Constantina TheofanopoulouDance has often been called the universal language. Whether engaging with dance as performers or audience members, we often find ourselves transfixed with the ability of this movement-based communication to move us and connect us. In this inaugural episode of Dancing into Brain Health, we uncover the ways dance might indeed help us speak. Our guest is neuroscientist and dancer Dr. Constantina Theofanopoulou whose research is uncovering the neural mechanisms behind how engaging in dance may actually support or even rehabilitate speech. ***To learn more about Dr. Constantina Theofanopoulou, visither website: https://www.constantinatheofanopoulou.com...
2025-02-2455 min
The Dance Up!S2 E11 - Dance, Creative Aging and Brain HealthJoin Dr. James D Walters, Assistant Professor of Dance Danielle Lydia Sheather, and Magda Kaczmarska dance artist, researcher, creative aging advocate, Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, and the Founding Director of DanceStream Projects as we dive into dance, creative aging and brain health. Listen to Magda's beginnings in both dance and science and her personal journey through injury and learning to enable her whole identity. We discuss finding our individual voice in dance, the financial parity that dancers face, and the ways in which we can learn to change the systems and models currently used to...
2024-12-282h 06
Shape Your SundayTips to Become an Internationally Known Dancer ft. Popping Raw-Shan | ShapeYourSunday S2E2Let's go international and represent the country proudly. Raw-Shan has done it multiple times and he has shared his journey from Kolkata to the entire world in this Podcast. Hope you enjoy.
If you want to register for the Online Winter Camp, go and and a dm to: https://www.instagram.com/misb_dancestream/
To register for the TUTTING INDIA Workshop go to: https://shapeyoursunday.systeme.io/aakar
Follow RawShan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rawshan.cfam
Follow ShapeYourSunday on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shapeyoursunday_/
We...
2022-02-1354 min