Vortex Movement Therapy

09/22/2026

🎃👻 Introducing "Spooky Moves" 👻🎃

This October, I’m bringing a Halloween-themed Dance/Movement Therapy group to assisted living and memory care communities in the Las Vegas area!

Spooky Moves uses familiar music, playful movement, props, and seasonal fun to encourage:
🕷️ Movement and body awareness
🎶 Music and memory
💃 Self-expression
🤝 Social connection
🎃 A little Halloween fun!

No dance experience or choreography is required. Activities can be adapted for seated and standing participation and different levels of mobility and ability.

I’m currently scheduling Spooky Moves sessions for October. If you work with older adults, manage an assisted living or memory care community, or know a community that might be interested, I’d love to connect!

📩 Message me here or email me at [email protected] for more information or to schedule a session.

09/20/2026

What does dance/movement therapy actually look like in memory care?

A dance/movement therapy group can include familiar songs, seated or standing movement, mirroring, props, and opportunities for social connection.

There’s no choreography to memorize and no expectation that everyone participate in the same way. Activities can be adapted to meet residents where they are, including different mobility levels and abilities.

Dance/movement therapy can offer residents another way to connect, express themselves, and engage with others beyond words.

Interested in bringing dance movement therapy to your community? Send me a message to learn more.

09/02/2026

Movement is communication.

For someone living with dementia, communication doesn’t always happen through words.

A change in posture.
A repetitive movement.
A shift in energy.
Pacing, reaching, rocking, or becoming still.

These movements can tell us something.

Instead of asking only, “How do we get them to stop?” we can also ask:

“What might this movement be communicating?”

Dance/movement therapy uses movement, observation, music, and the therapeutic relationship to help individuals express themselves, connect with others, and support emotional and physical well-being.

For older adults and people living with dementia, meeting someone through movement can create opportunities for connection, especially when verbal communication becomes more difficult.

Sometimes, connection begins when we stop asking for words. 🩵

08/23/2026

08/19/2026

Movement Is More Than Exercise 💜

When we think about movement for older adults, we often think about strength, balance, flexibility, or physical fitness.

But movement can offer so much more.

For older adults, including those living with dementia, movement can also be a way to:

🧠 Stimulate the brain and support cognition
💜 Express emotions when words are difficult
🤝 Create connection with others
😊 Encourage joy and playfulness
🌱 Support a sense of identity and self-expression
✨ Promote meaningful engagement and quality of life

And movement doesn't have to look like a traditional exercise class.

A hand gesture.
A gentle sway.
Moving to a familiar song.
Reaching toward another person.
Mirroring a movement.
Even noticing how the body feels.

These small movements can become meaningful opportunities for connection.

This is one of the things I love about Dance/Movement Therapy: we don't have to ask, “Can this person dance?” We can ask, “How can this person's movement become a pathway to connection?”

08/07/2026

💃🧠 Did you know dance/movement therapy can support healthy aging?

Movement is more than exercise. It can be a powerful way to connect the body, mind, emotions, memories, and other people.

For older adults, Dance/Movement Therapy may support:
✨ Emotional well-being
🧠 Cognitive health & memory
🤝 Social connection
💪 Mobility & body awareness
❤️ Self-expression & quality of life

And the best part? Dance Therapy is accessible to all physical levels and abilities! It’s about using movement in ways that feel meaningful, comfortable, and accessible to you.

As a Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, I believe there are many ways to move, connect, and heal at every stage of life. 💙

07/16/2026

07/15/2026

So excited to be attending this workshop in November 💚

How can dance/movement therapy foster connection, creativity, and vitality for people living with dementia?

Join Cecilia Fontanesi, PhD, BC-DMT, CMA, RSME and Donna Newman-Bluestein, M.Ed., BC-DMT, CMA at ADTA61 for Connection and Vitality: How Dance/Movement Therapists Engage People Living with Dementia across In-Person and Virtual Spaces.

This experiential intensive explores how movement, creativity, and embodied relationship can support people living with dementia and their care partners across clinical, community, and virtual settings. Through movement experiences, clinical examples, and discussion, participants will examine person-centered, strengths-based approaches that cultivate agency, co-regulation, resilience, and meaningful connection.

Drawing on decades of expertise in dance/movement therapy, dementia care, and neuroscience, this workshop highlights the transformative role of nonverbal communication and embodied presence in promoting well-being throughout the lifespan.

ADTA61: Tides of Change: Innovations in Dance/Movement Therapy
📍 Long Beach, CA
📅 November 5–8, 2026

🎟️ Discounted registration is now open. Save your spot today!

Registration information: https://bit.ly/4fcgTmN

06/06/2026

This week’s Dance Therapy class explored how we can find balance between effort and ease…in the body and in life 💚