Young dancers bring energy as the perform for seniors in Merritt

Posted by Merritt Herald | Jan 15, 2025

—— Photos and story by Ty Lim

After years, Love to Dance Academy has returned to The Florentine retirement homes.

There were 13 dancers performing in the dining area of The Florentine on Monday afternoon, Jan. 13 who put on a show with a multitude of routines. 

According to Kia Henriksen, artistic director at the dance school, they’ve missed that senior’s centre the last couple of years. 

“This year, we wanted to make a point to make sure that we got to them,” she said.

Students from the academy put on shows for those in retirement homes a few times a year. 

“It’s really important to bring some young energy and some fun to the folks that are in assisted living,” Henriksen said.

Henriksen recounted her own days as a dancer herself. In Calgary, she didn’t get much of a chance to participate in dance competitions. Instead, she and her group would go to nursing homes to perform.

“I remember when I was a kid, we would always like, stay after and would like, hang out with them and make a day of it,” she said.

Even though the Love to Dance Academy has been performing at seniors centres for a while now, she wants to make it even more of a tradition.

She said these performances are also beneficial for the kids in more than one way.

“I think that they enjoy any chance, like any opportunity, to dance. We could go to a gas station and they’d be like, sweet, let’s dance,” she said, adding that it gives the kids experience performing as well. 

There’s also the community service aspect, but it’s something that the kids might not realize until they get older.

“My dance teacher always made us shake hands with all of the residents and have you go talk to them. I just remember being like, ‘Mom, why are we doing this?’” she said. “Now I get it a lot more than when I was seven. I think they’ll (the kids) appreciate it as they grow up.”