Sometimes a video brings us out of our monotonous life and reminds us that life is like a gift. One similar video of a ballerina is being viral now which does the same. People watching the video had tears in their eyes while watching it. The video shows Marta C Gonzalez, an accomplished ballerina who danced with the New York City Ballet in the 1960s. She is sitting in her wheelchair at a nursing home in Valencia and listening to Swan Lake through headphones. She begins to gracefully dance the way she learnt decades ago. Ms Gonzalez, died last year. She was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The video was recorded in 2019 but has just been released by a Spanish charity that provides therapy for dementia patients. It has now gone viral. The video was a part of a study being done by the Spanish organization Music to Awaken.  They study how music impacts patients with dementia.

Pepe Olmedo, a psychologist, and director of the organization told Brut that she was selected for the study because of her background as a dancer.  He said, “We searched for the songs she had danced on when she was young. Even songs where she was the prima ballerina. The day when we met her, she appeared sad, nervous sometimes, and we did not know how effective this would be. But as she listened to 'Swan Lake' she completely transformed.” Olmedo said that science has proven that some areas of the brain related to musical memory are less damaged by Alzheimer's than other parts of the brain. Music is totally linked to emotions. This emotion is important for people with dementia to help connect them with the moments in their lives. The viral video shows alternating scenes of Gonzalez Saldana dancing from her wheelchair and a ballerina performing the dance on stage. It is amazing how music, dance, art can remain, even when other memories fade away. 

Tags

• Marta
• Gonzalez
• Music
• Ballerina
• Alzheimers
• Pep

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