1Who and where are you?
Hello, I am Loes Velter, I am 68 years old. I live in Eindhoven, in the southern part of the Netherlands. I have been dancing all my life. When I was 25 I followed teacher training dance at the theatre school in Amsterdam. I discovered that the balance between inside and outside was my way.
2Are you a Movement Medicine teacher and/or facilitator?
Teacher and Facilitator.
I trained in 2008 and I graduated in 2019.
3Who do you serve with your Movement Medicine work?
Besides teaching weekly lessons to adults, I have recently started dancing with a group of people who suffer from Parkinson's disease.
For 7 years I shared Movement Medicine with children from the age of 4 to 6 years in in different schools. I found the children to be very flexible and hungry for freedom of movement. Movement Medicine suits young children very well.
4What is the meaning of this work for you?
Feeling free in your body, daring to move, breath and dance, as you are. This is the medicine! If you feel and experience that, you will be able to live life in a meaningful way. You always have the choice to feel and experience your challenges through dance. That is not easy, but it gives you such a lot!
5Please tell us about two recent precious moments you’ve experienced in your professional Movement Medicine work.
A participant in the Parkinson's group told me that she had refound the feeling she used to have when dancing professionally, when she did not yet have Parkinson's.
An old man of 80 said to me, after a whole day of dance. "Thank you Loes for giving this day. Thanks to your power, the entire group had a lot of energy and I enjoyed the moment that makes dance beautiful".
6Please tell us something about when you recognised that Movement Medicine was going to play an important role in your life.
When I came into contact with MM, I felt an enormous freedom in movement that I still feel today and want to go further in connection with others.
In this moment I was free to expand in so many directions, to flow through so many layers of movement, to feel the depth of movement in my body and with the connection of the elements that could give even more colour to my sense of dance, that was the moment I felt so inspired.
7The thing you find yourself saying most often to your participants.
"Breathe, bring your intention to your body, whole body. Feel the earth of your body and the body of the earth, step back into your own circle. Feel your spine and move from your tailbone to your neck and head and go back, dance the tree of life."
8If you had 9 words to say anything you wanted to the world, what would it be?
Creativity, peace, letting go, connection, giving, gratitude, forgiveness, dignity.
