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Liesl Dees: Hello. My name is Liesl Dees and I direct continuing education at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico. I want to talk to you about why belly dancing matters, really.

I oversee hundreds of classes like belly dancing that enrich people's lives from small people in youth programs to students in their 90s. And I see daily the power of personal enrichment or lifelong learning.

In the field of continuing education, there is a buzz phrase a few years ago that every class can be a wellness class, and I'd like to expand on that idea. Many of us grew up with a model that we focused on education in the early years of our lives, then we focused on work, and then we focused on leisure. We know that that model doesn't work. All of our jobs require continuous learning in both informal and formal ways, and we are learning throughout our lives. We don't want fun simply to wait until we've stopped our formal work lives. You may want to learn to play golf before you turn 65. We want to integrate learning and fun throughout our lives, hence lifelong learning. We also know that enrichment topics are essential for young learners. Sports, art and music are not nice-to-have options in our educational system, but in a real way in which learning occurs both inside and outside school.

When we developed a program to enrich the lives of older adults, the research on vitality and aging emphasized four components: learning, relationships, service and wellness. First, learning allows us to grow new neural networks, building on what we already know and keeping our brains active. This may be more cognitive in a history class or more embodied in yoga, fly fishing or pottery. When we do this in community, we build relationships. This may take tangible forms such as meeting someone with whom you're then comfortable going out to lunch, or it may be the power of communal experience. As any sports fan or churchgoer knows, there's power in coming together, both in real life and online to root together or to share common rituals. Service, the fourth element can be a little harder to integrate into formal class settings. But it shows up in ways that students support each other or in sharing their new talents with others. And wellness may be more obvious in an exercise class. But when joy is created in painting, it's there too. And wellness isn't just physical, but spiritual and emotional.

Belly dancing actually demonstrates all of this beautifully. And we currently have two belly dance programs that have appealed to different audiences. Our SharQui, the belly dance workout class, is currently offered at the Bonnie Dallas Senior Center, and this energetic group is led by longtime local fitness instructor, Alia DiRe. She gets students physically working muscles that they didn't know they had. And more importantly, it's in a way that is fun and engaging. They frequently perform for events at the senior center, as well as going out on the road to a local assisted living facility to brighten up the days of residents with a performance.

Our second set of belly dance classes is taught by Kayleigh Steinbach. Kaylee fell in love with belly dance years ago in one of our classes, and she has studied and performed for over 10 years and now teaches. She's the team leader for Team Shimmy Mob in Farmington, which raises awareness of domestic abuse. And she's a dance member of local belly dance troupe, Red Desert Muse. For Kayleigh, belly dance is a powerful means of expression in her body in a welcoming and supportive environment.

Both of these classes offer embodied learning. They create community, they give opportunities to give back to others, and they offer physical wellbeing through joyful movement, learning, relationships, service and wellness. These are four components that enrich all of our lives, not just for older adults. I believe that every class you take can be a wellness class depending on how you use it in your life. Some classes are obvious like yoga, but a field trip that takes you to explore nearby native communities such as the Hopi can broaden your appreciation for our region.

I'd like to close by sharing an example of wellness in action that involved San Juan Regional Medical Center. One of our stained glass students recently completed a window for the hospital's chapel. Brenda Goodnight has studied stained glass for years, and she turned her talents into a beautiful gift that offers a space for contemplation. For Brenda, it was an act of love that she did over the course of numerous classes, and it is a gift of wellness that has a powerful ripple effect in our community.

I hope you've walked away with some sense of the power of belly dance. And thank you for listening and enjoy your day.