Giving back to society is a key mission of Group Operational Excellence (GOE). Since 2019, we have organised dance-focused activities for senior citizens from the Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA), a social service agency that serves vulnerable persons across various life stages. So far, we have conducted three lively dance sessions.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we moved our dance fitness sessions online. On 9 October 2020, 12 volunteers met 10 senior citizens from AWWA Dementia Day Care Centre (Ang Mo Kio) via Microsoft Teams. We kept the group of seniors small so that volunteers and staff from the centre could give each person sufficient attention and assistance. The small group size also met the pandemic-related guidelines.

Why dance? Research has shown that programmes built around music and movement can encourage active ageing, with both physical and mental benefits. In fact, such programmes could improve cognition and combat dementia: A 21-year long study (led by the New York-based Albert Einstein College of Medicine) found that frequent dancing (several days or more per week) reduced the risk of dementia by 76% in a group of seniors aged 75 years and above.

Inspired by the benefits of dance, Head of GOE, Ong Soon Yan, said at the beginning of the session, “It is very important to keep fit mentally and physically, and we encourage everybody to keep fit at any age. Dancing is a great activity that builds muscle strength and flexibility, helps us stay steady, maintain good balance, and reduce stress. We can dance standing or seated. Just remember to keep moving every day.”

We were initially concerned that we would not be able to engage the seniors without in-person interaction. However, our fears were unfounded as they quickly warmed up and attempted the dance movements sportingly with the help of the centre’s staff.

We carefully choreographed the dance movements to be sufficiently invigorating and yet not overly strenuous. We focused on building and maintaining muscle strength, flexibility, and balance. All movements were performed seated to reduce strain and keep the seniors relaxed. Importantly, the dance movements were simple and easy to follow via live streaming.

Thankfully, the seniors enjoyed themselves, tapping their toes and swaying their arms to familiar tunes such as Kung Fu Fighting and 上海滩 (Shanghai Beach). Prior to the session, we scoured our playlists for Mandarin and English hits that would suit the tastes of the seniors. We were so glad that our planning paid off.

After half an hour of dancing, we stopped for a 15-minute chit-chat session. The seniors then happily adjourned for refreshments. In closing, Soon Yan said, “The element of in-person interaction is not easy to replicate online. We were glad to have overcome the challenges and were able to bring fun and laughter to the seniors. We definitely did not let the pandemic hold us back. Kudos to the team!”

Head of GOE, Soon Yan, kickstarted the session with an inspiring opening address

The dance fitness session took place over Microsoft Teams

The seniors enthusiastically followed our moves

Kudos to our GOE volunteers!