ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS

A touching video showing a former ballet dancer afflicted with memory loss gracefully dancing as she hears the music from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake has gone viral worldwide.

The video was recently shared by the Asociación Música para Despertar, a Spanish organization that promotes music therapy for those afflicted by memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Since then, media organizations, celebrities and individuals across the globe have shared the video of former dancer Marta C. González.

The video is undoubtedly moving and uplifting, and it speaks to the power of music and dance for those suffering from memory loss. González elegantly moves her arms to the music, her eyes flashing with purpose. But many questions have arisen about González — and what the video purports to show.
Música para Despertar says that the video was taken in Valencia, Spain in 2019, and that González has since died. The charity also claims that González was a former prima ballerina with "the New York Ballet" in the 1960s. There is no such known company and the New York City Ballet does not list anyone by that name as one of its alumni.

Alastair Macaulay, a prominent dance critic formerly with The New York Times, has been chasing González's history and posting his findings to Instagram. On Tuesday, Macaulay posted that he has located a mysterious 1966 document, bearing what appears to be a Cuban governmental stamp, from a non-existent organization called "The Higher School for Professional Studies, Nueva York," saying that "Marta C. González Saldaña" could be called a "prima ballerina" in the "Ballet de las Américas" — but there is no such company in New York or anywhere else in the U.S.

Furthermore, the 2019 video of González is interspersed with archival clips of someone dancing, which casual viewers have assumed to be González performing at the peak of her career. But it is apparently not González dancing — and the archival performance is not of Swan Lake, either. Macaulay says the clips are of a former prima ballerina from Russia's Mariinsky Ballet, Uliana Lopatkina — performing not Tchaikovsky's ballet, but the solo piece The Dying Swan, a dance set to music by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns from his longer piece Carnival of the Animals.

The Asociación Música para Despertar did not immediately respond to NPR's questions on Tuesday about the video and González.

​The Alzheimer's Association notes that music can be an important form of therapy for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. No matter what González' personal history actually was, Tchaikovsky's music clearly evoked a strong, truly visceral response from this former dancer.

Thank you for your phone call, ongoing support and encouragement.
Just wanting to share with you an occasion I recently experienced whilst volunteering in the Emergency Department (ED) of our local hospital.
A very elderly lady was brought into ED by her concerned son. The lady's condition had been deteriorating and understandably her son was very concerned.
ED staff responded in a very genuine and caring manner but the lady remained agitated.  After a length of time I volunteered to sit with her whilst her son left to attend to other matters.
I asked the lady for her son's name but because of her anxiety I was unable to catch what she was saying.  On asking again she started to gently sing "Danny Boy"; thus providing his name.  Having identified her love of music, I asked if she would like to listen to music I had downloaded to the eSHUFFLe (a general collection of older songs) and with ED staff approval, the eSHUFFLe was gently placed for her.
The response was almost magical.  In no time at all, our lovely 99 year old lady, was resting back on her pillows, gently swaying to the beat of the music and mouthing the words of the song.
This lady listened for about 40 minutes.  The eSHUFFLe was removed and she rested comfortably until being moved to one of the wards for further care.
How little we have to do in so many instances to give peacefulness and enjoyment.
Wishing you, and all your fellow volunteers the very very best with your future developments to so many people in a range of situations.
​Thank you for all the work and commitment you have given.

Members of the Stroke a Chord choir were thrilled to be invited to sing at the Monash Medical Centre on 3rd December 2019 to celebrate the International Day of Disability.  We really enjoyed performing to an audience and educating them about stroke and aphasia.  All our members are stroke survivors with disabilities and many have aphasia. 
Following a talk by a fellow stroke survivor on her own personal journey of recovery, the choir was introduced to the audience by Speech Pathologist Bronwyn Jones.  Led by our conductor Christie Cula Reid and supported by our talented musicians we presented a diverse program providing opportunity for the audience to join us in song.  We were pleased to mix with the audience who are part of the Monash Medical Centre team.  It was a great day for all of us.

Arrernte cultural leader M.K. Turner, who is the Ampe-kenhe Ahelhe Co-director of the First Nations organisation Children’s Ground (Alice Springs NT), has been working with Dr Myfany Turpin to record and document traditional Arrernte songs for over 10 years. MK Turner is a singer, teacher and facilitator of others wishing to learn and revive their Aboriginal songs.
Recently Myfany uploaded recordings of traditional Arrernte songs on a pair of the  Music and the Brain Foundation’s encore headphones . These enable one to listen to the songs without a media player, as the eSHUFFLe headphones have a built in capacity to play from an SD card.
​At Children’s Ground the headphones can be charged and the playlists managed from a computer. It is hoped that the headphones will enable custodians greater access to hearing recordings of their traditional songs, for both enjoyment and educational purposes.

as reported by Sandy Cheu in Australian Ageing Agenda

A trial using music to improve wellbeing, behaviour and psychological symptoms of residents living with dementia has been launched at the Whiddon Group’s Laurieton facility.
The six-month trial aimed at residents with advanced dementia is part of the relationship-based approach to care at the facility, which puts residents and their families at the centre, Whiddon says.
The trial commenced in March. It currently involves approximately ten residents, who listen to a personalised music playlist about three times a week, twice a day, for a up to an hour, depending on individual diagnosis and tolerance.
It uses specialized [eSHUFFLe] wireless headphones made by Music and The Brain Foundation and designed for people living with dementia to optimize the length of time they are able to wear them.
Staff worked with family members and friends to learn each resident’s music preferences from when they were young adults.
The Whiddon Group’s executive general manager Karn Nelson said the personalised playlists have a calming effect on the residents.
“We found that when they’re wearing the eSHUFFLEs and listening to the music, there is an immediate effect,” Ms Nelson told Australian Ageing Agenda.
A calming effect
“They almost immediately show they are much calmer and display signs of pleasure,” she said.
At first, residents were “suspicious” about having headphones on, however once they adjusted to them, they reacted in a positive way, Ms Nelson said.
An increase in social engagement, relaxation, smiling, giggling and reduction in wandering and agitation are among other effects that have been observed.
“When they listen to the music they sit down, they relax, they smile, they start laughing and it will relax them enough so that they can also sit and eat.
“Everyone benefits from the program, however some more than others,” she said.
The calming effect has also been shown to last after residents have stopped listening to the music, Ms Nelson said.
“There is about a one to three-hour window where they might become more socially responsive and will be very content,” she said.
For some residents, “we’re sort of seeing a build-up effect, and it might last for the rest of the day and in general, they have a much better day and then sleep better,” Ms Nelson said.
The aim is to be able to slowly increase the number of listening times to three times a day, Ms Nelson said.
The Laurieton facility is reaching the end of its trial, and Whiddon is looking to develop it further and implement it at other facilities.
“The objective was to trial it in one service, see how effective it was, and figure out how we can develop it and integrate it into our care approach, so it becomes a standard part of our care for people living with advanced dementia,” Ms Nelson said.

​Music as an effective therapy for people with dementia
Deb has dementia. She often looks lost and expressionless, wandering restlessly and without interaction. Staff at the care home share that Deb can become very isolated due to her dementia, displaying signs of anxiety and sadness.
When Deb first joined the trial of this program and began listening to the playlist developed specially for her, based on her past and favourite songs (upbeat surfing music, like the Beach Boys), she smiled instantly, began laughing and tapping her foot in time to the beat. One of the care workers who knows Deb well report that she laughs, giggles and feels involved and included when she is wearing her eSHUFFLe headphones.
While Deb’s responses to music as a therapy are overwhelmingly positive, the quality of her response is enhanced by developing a playlist just for Deb, with plenty of detective work between the care staff and Deb’s family employed.

Allan Watts - Remote Community Support Worker, Kimberley Aged and Community Services

This is Truman who used to be a boxer. He attends the KACC every morning for breakfast, but he never stays too long. He may say a few words to his friends  but he is not one for sitting around for a chat.
Truman is hard of hearing and I often have difficulty making myself understood to him,
So last week while in Yungngora I asked him if he would like to have a listen to a story on the new eSHUFFLEs we were testing out,
We adjusted the volume for his hearing and as soon as that was sorted out he was hooked.
Truman spent two hours sitting listening to old stockmen stories which I had loaded on to the eSHUFFLe headphones, and he will become one of the first folks in Yungngora to get a set for himself.  He wants old Slim Dusty songs, ( not the new stuff I make him listen to, he told me)
The following day I took three of the old fellas up to Fitzroy for the day, Truman, Jimmy and Sammy,  they all talked non-stop about their younger days on the trip up and back.
Next morning at the KACC the three of them started telling me about their first time droving sheep into Noonkanbah , they were 11 years old. They asked if we could record some of their stories on my next visit,  so they could also go onto the headphones.
This was the first trial on my first trip out with them. A spectacular success.

By Margaret Burin  Updated 27 May 2016, 7:08am
​The Stroke A Chord choir is auspiced by Music and The Brain Foundation as a Vocal Locals project

Adrian Eagleton cannot string a sentence together after experiencing a stroke 18 years ago, but like many of the members in Stroke a Chord, he can sing beautifully.
In a condition known as aphasia, the stroke damaged the section of his brain that controls speech output.
But because singing and melody is processed by a different part of the brain, he is still able to sing.
The 66-year-old is a member of Stroke a Cord, a choir for people who also have the condition, which is celebrating its sixth birthday this week.
To mark the occasion, they performed a rendition of Unchained Melody, complete with one of Adrian's moving solos.
Speech pathologist Bronwyn Jones said it regularly brought a tear to the eyes of their audience.
"Adrian has got five words, and several of them are rude words, and that's about it," she said.
"But when he sung Unchained Melody he was able to sing a whole verse all by himself.
"His sister came over from Adelaide when we first were rehearsing, and she cried the first time she heard him sing.
"We haven't done our job unless Adrian's brought a tear to peoples' eyes."
Ms Jones has been working with the self-funded group since it started in the eastern Melbourne suburb of Ringwood in 2000.
She said it was touching to see participants finally being able to express themselves using their voice.
"It's just a joy every week, it's like magic, it's like coming to work and seeing magic."