A Case Study of Intergenerational Relations Through Dance with Profoundly Deaf Individuals

Abstract

Summary In this study, the medium of dance was used to explore intergenerational relationships between profoundly deaf young children and profoundly deaf older adults. The specific purposes of the researcher were to explore interaction between a group of profoundly deaf older adults and profoundly deaf young children in an intergenerational dance program setting; to examine the extent to which individuals of one age group act as grandparents or grandchildren for those of another age group; to examine the dance elements of warmups, partnering, touch, and line versus circle; and to investigate whether dance can act as a catalyst for social interaction between these two age groups.