I have had several moments of gratitude since I arrived in the role of Associate Director of Creative Aging Programs at the Frye last August, but one of the top experiences was hosting and witnessing a special dementia-friendly event last December in Frye Salon. This event featured Dr. (and dancer) Julia Becke, leading nearly seventy people in seated movement inspired by the artworks on view in the gallery. This undeniably moving performance was the culmination of a thirteen-week artist residency supporting Dr. Becke to develop curriculum and choreography for a new creative arts engagement experience. Dancing Together is a unique program designed specifically for persons with memory loss and their care partners. Last fall, several of The Memory Hub partners were invited to collaborate with Dr. Becke on her program. She was the featured artist at Alzheimer’s Café in September and November 2024.
I recently had the privilege to interview Dr. Julia Becke and Marigrace Becker, Director of The Memory Hub and Program Manager of Community Education and Impact at UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center. They provided context and reflection on The Memory Hub's first-ever Artist-in-Residence Program and Dancing Together event, including how it has inspired a new quarterly dementia-friendly Creative Aging offering at the Frye in 2025. I am pleased to report that we hosted our first Dancing Together at the Frye program on April 23 with thirty-two participants in attendance. Over the course of the hour, the program even inspired general public museum visitors to join in, highlighting the power of creative arts engagement for all.
–Lea Lovelace, Associate Director of Creative Aging Programs
How did the Artist-in-Residence Program at The Memory Hub come to fruition and how was Dr. Julia Becke chosen?
Marigrace Becker: Incorporating an Artist-in-Residence (AiR) Program has always been part of the vision for the Memory Hub. Practically speaking, the idea came about when touring the 1021 Columbia space when it was operated by Hugo House, a place for writers, and I noticed that two of the offices here (including my current office) were dedicated for Writers-in-Residence. Meanwhile, creative arts of all kinds have such a strong legacy and such tremendous impact within the world of dementia care and represent such a core thread/theme among current programming at The Memory Hub and the work of our on-site collaborators, that adding a layer of AiR to the community seemed only natural!
Last year there were a couple serendipitous things that happened which led to Dr. Becke’s residency. One, a friend who had a new position at Town Hall shared how they approach their residency, and much of their approach resonated for me and seemed like something that could work at The Memory Hub. Then, in a meeting with neurologist Dr. Grabowski, I was describing dance workshops offered by a UW physician within the Elderwise adult day program at The Memory Hub and he said, “I think you already have your Artist-in-Residence.” I credit him for recognizing that the right person was already in our midst. Meanwhile, I’d heard about Dr. Becke because she had been piloting dance workshops at Greenwood Senior Center and at Elderwise, and I had met with her a while ago to learn about her background and interests. I approached Julia about helping us pilot the AiR program, and she was interested. Truly, Julia was the absolute perfect person to work with as inaugural AiR—someone already familiar with our institution, someone collaborating with at least one of the organizations at The Memory Hub, and someone tremendously talented and up for diving into a new initiative! Her final performance in Frye Salon will continue to reverberate in our community. Her ongoing work post-residency with the Frye, Full Life Care, and here at The Memory Hub brings me great joy.
Hi Dr. Becke, could you tell us about your background and what led you to get involved with The Memory Hub?
Dr. Julia Becke: I am an internal medicine physician at UW and a dancer. In late 2023, I had an opportunity to learn how to teach dance for people living with dementia at Canada’s National Ballet School. As I was trying to build this program in Seattle, I initially connected with Janet Salsbury at Elderwise. Their weekly sessions focused on arts-based activity seemed like a natural fit. I started teaching weekly with Elderwise at the beginning of 2024. Janet quickly encouraged me to connect with Marigrace Becker and The Memory Hub team as a whole, as the classes there became more consistent. Marigrace has created such an amazing team as well as a warm, welcoming space—I felt like I was part of the community almost immediately!
What was your favorite thing about leading dancers through your choreography in Frye Salon?
JB: I have a hard time with favorites, so here are a few. The beautiful setting of Frye Salon created a sense of warmth and welcoming for the dancers along with a feeling of occasion. My dancers got to share their work with their loved ones in this special setting and, hopefully, to feel honored for their creative efforts, as artists themselves! Many had the chance to see the works that inspired our choreography in person for the first time. I got to see care partners and loved ones see their dancers in a new light!
How was your experience collaborating with The Memory Hub and the Frye for your final performance? What led you to choose Frye Salon as the setting?
JB: It was immensely satisfying and a true team effort. Each collaborator brought their strengths to the process of imagining and enabling this event, resulting in an event that met and then surpassed what I had originally envisioned.
I had originally asked to use the Art Studio space on the second floor, as the natural light and high ceiling appealed to me as a naturally creative space. However, our group wound up being bigger than I had anticipated. The Frye staff supported a pivot to Frye Salon, correctly noting how special it would be to perform in the space where the artworks that inspired our group choreography were on display!
Which paintings from Frye Salon inspired your final performance? How did you select them?
JB: We worked with Septembre by François Cachoud and The Coming Storm, West Norway by Hans Dahl for the thirteen weeks of the session. I visited the gallery on at least two occasions over the summer of 2024 and just sat with the paintings in the room. I was looking for works with room for storytelling, but not too abstract; with a little drama in the work, but not fear; with a human element, but organic/outdoor elements—a special kind of Goldilocks.
What is it like to use static artworks as inspiration for a movement-based art like dance? Tell us more about your process from inspiration to performance.
JB: This was a group effort in terms of creating the choreography. Both artworks generated immediate emotional responses in the dancers. We shared observations, feelings, and personal stories that the paintings evoked. Then we worked improvisationally to turn those thoughts and ideas into movement. I look forward to sharing more about the process at my Dancing with Dementia lecture at the Frye on Thursday, May 1!
Tell us about your experience as a dancer leading these dementia-friendly programs and as a physician doing research on dance and dementia. How do you think art/movement can enhance therapeutic practices?
JB: As a dancer, leading these classes is all about sharing joy and finding beauty in the moment. Dance is so ephemeral; each time you execute the same movement, it will be different. This is particularly powerful for people living with dementia. It takes away some of the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing, and it decreases the isolation of memory loss. Knowing that when we dance, each movement is unique to that person, time, and place frees my dancers to be more fully in the moment, and hopefully to be more at ease with expressing themselves through their dancing.
What excites you most about continuing Dancing Together at the Frye and The Memory Hub? What will the experiences across each venue share, and what might be different?
JB: After such a pivotal experience in December supporting my dancers in their performance in the beautiful Frye Salon, I am so happy for further opportunities to create more dance in that space and with my community at The Memory Hub.
We’ll continue dancing in class at The Memory Hub with a similar format to the classes in the fall. Our improvisational component will be more seasonal, taking inspiration from nature or upcoming events.
At our quarterly program Dancing Together at the Frye, we’ll keep much of the familiar format to the fall classes, but we’ll take more time for dance making. We’ll spend time in class sharing thoughts and movement ideas inspired by works in Frye Salon. By the end of class, we’ll have created a brief movement sequence all together!
Thank you to Marigrace Becker and Dr. Julia Becke for sharing and giving us insight into these special programs!
To register or find more information about programs featured in this post, please visit the links below:
Memory Hub Artist-in-Residence Program
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos by Jueqian Fang.