Music is a powerful medium, and so is dance. The body stores these long-term memories and even when everything else seems to be gone, we can still remember the stuff that moved us deeply. A former prima ballerina from the New York City Ballet named Marta C. González proved this point in a poignant video that has gone viral in recent weeks. Marta has Alzheimer’s disease, but she still recognizes Tchaikovsky’s classic “Swan Lake,” which she danced in 1967. When she heard the music, Marta began moving her arms and dancing the routine that she memorized so many years ago.
The video clip is interspersed with clips of Marta listening to the music in her wheelchair, and meanwhile, archival performance footage from another dancer’s performance plays alongside Marta’s present-day movements. No actual footage of Marta can be found, according to the organization who filmed the video. To see Marta, who has suffered profound memory loss, is so moving to anyone who sees it. She’s still so graceful and it’s absolutely amazing that this memory is still somewhere deep inside of her. There are simply some things that are never forgotten, no matter how old we get or what disease attacks our minds and our bodies. Beyond recognizing this, we’re also made painfully aware of how much Alzheimer’s steals from its victims.
This has absolutely broken my heart this morning. The glimpses of memory , the sadness for those with or a loved one living with Alzheimer’s. Support @alzheimerssoc and @AlzResearchUK . If music and dance can restore or hold memory , how precious . https://t.co/TBN7mrI1Z9
— Arlene Phillips CBE (@arlenephillips) November 9, 2020
This scene was filmed in 2019 but recently went viral again and people are lauding it for the endurance of the incredible human spirit. Since the video was filmed, Marta has passed away, but her final performance lives on and reminds us just how beautiful it is to be alive and to be human. In fact, last year, England’s Health Secretary suggested that dance sessions should be prescribed to dementia patients as a part of their therapy and treatment plans. A recent study shows that giving patients their own personal music playlists can result in a 60% reduced need for medication. We found more of Marta’s story on Facebook.
The footage was recorded by Música para Despertar (Music to Wake Up To), an advocacy group for music therapy and its value. Watch the video below.
