At 78, Susan Jordan QSM moves with purpose. After five decades as a dance specialist -including founding Auckland’s SeniorsDANCE classes -her true passion today is championing creative ageing: the belief that creativity can improve wellbeing as we age.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to work with seniors.

I’ve been involved in dance my entire professional life - teaching at tertiary levels, choreographing, working in arts management and research. I founded dance studies at the University of Auckland and established Dance Aotearoa New Zealand’s Tāmaki office (DANZ).

My journey into seniors’ work began with a challenge from a fellow arts worker: “Why aren’t you doing anything for older people?” I couldn’t ignore that. Around 2011, I found some initial funding, brought in two teachers, and eventually went part-time in my other work so I could teach the classes myself.

By 2016, SeniorsDANCE had grown enough to formally brand the programme, and I’ve been refining it ever since. There was no model to follow - I had to invent it. And every time I teach a class, I still learn something new.

I also run an adaptive dance class at TAPAC (the Auckland Performing Arts Centre) for seniors recovering from stroke, living with early dementia, Parkinson’s, or dealing with mobility challenges.

What gap did you see that SeniorsDANCE could fill?

Older adults were missing movement experiences designed specifically for them. With professional dancers, you can start on the floor; with seniors, we start seated. But it’s not just lounging in the chair. It’s sitting correctly. I’m building coordination, building muscles in the legs, mobility in all the joints. A lot of people have had hip replacements or knee surgery, or shoulders can go wrong. 

We also do a lot of work on walking, because most people walk badly without realising it. 
Then there’s the creative side. We regularly create dances based on how people are feeling or what they’re experiencing. It’s a way to process challenges and emotions.

Last year, we created a piece called ‘Screwed’. I struggle to open jars these days; my wrist strength just isn’t there. So everyone contributed a movement based on something that frustrates them. I wove them together into a dance and set it to music. It was great to focus on things that frustrate us and then laugh at them.