State-of-the-art technology developed in Pittsburgh has retirees and seniors across the country tapping their toes and sashaying for fitness.
The fitness software was developed by local entrepreneur Jeff Pepper, president and CEO of
Dancetown, who designed the program with the help of health caregivers. Pepper says he wanted to help people in retirement homes connect with each another. “There’s always of the danger of isolation. You end up losing touch with family, friends, work that makes your life meaning.”
Dancetown displays footwork on a computer screen and invites participants to follow along with the steps, a fitness system that stimulates the brain and enhances physical, mental and emotional health, explains spokesperson Dawn Jackman Biery.
It’s a slow motion version of “Dance Dance Revolution,” a game that pits players against computer directed dance steps, but plays Oldies and begins at a beginner level and moves into steady paced dancing. The fitness program may be offered as a class by a trained wellness coordinator, self-directed or as a competitive game against others.
Dancetown was launched at
Country Meadows in Bridgeville,
Longwood in Oakmont and 100 sites across the country. “We did a trade show in Orlando and it was huge,” laughs Biery. “We had an 87-year-old legally blind woman dancing at level 2 to “Walking After Midnight by Patsy Cline.”
Dancetown is a division of
Touchtown Inc., purveyors of software that manages inhouse television for retirement communities. “It’s a giant step forward in our long-term commitment to serving the senior community,” Pepper says.
To view Dancetown in action, click
here.
Writer:
Deb SmitSource: Dawn Jackman Biery, Jeff Pepper, Dancetown
Image courtesy of Touchtown Inc.