Understanding the Cognitive and Psychosocial Implications of Dance Expertise in Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Creative arts and physical activities can confer cognitive and psychosocial benefits for people of all ages, including older adults. Dance is a creative and physical art form that involves improvised or choreographed movements to music and rhythmic patterns. While research shows growing evidence for health and wellbeing benefits from dance interventions for older adults, little is known about the cognitive and psychosocial advantages of having long-term expertise in dance. This scoping review identified and synthesised the existing research on the influence of sustained engagement in dance or elite-level dance skills on cognitive function and psychosocial wellbeing in older adulthood. Ten studies were included for analysis. The findings of this review show the limited research on older adults with high levels of dance expertise and may serve as a stimulus for further research to understand how maintaining different creative arts and physical activities across the lifespan supports healthy ageing.