Community Outreach
FJK Dance and Wellness at NYC Health + Hospitals / Kings County.
—By Donna Leno Gordon, RN, MS, Executive MPA, Integrative Nurse Coach – Board Certified
Fadi J Khoury and Donna Leno Gordon at the nurses month celebration.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to the present, healthcare staff has been dealing with challenges such as burnout, stress, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and staff well-being. Current research underscores the need for interventions to promote well-being and their measures of success. Particularly, the WHO (World Health Organization) defines burnout as “a disease of the 21st century” and OSHA (Occupation Safety and Health Administration) declares stress a hazard of the workplace. We strongly believe that modalities which help promote resilience have had an overall positive effect on our healthcare staff at Kings County Hospital.
Fadi J. Khoury, Artistic Director and Choreographer of FJK Dance, a New York based contemporary dance company, is a volunteer Artist in Residence at Kings County Hospital. FJK Dance supports the hospital’s efforts in creating greater awareness and acceptance in our society for mental health and wellness. Fadi has been promoting and providing resiliency interventions through Dance, Movement & Stretch sessions for our staff. His artistic approach helps motivate physical wellbeing by reducing body tension and exhaustion, as well as inspiring the staff to feel mentally, emotionally, and psychologically rejuvenated.
Over the course of 2022 alone, Fadi provided 14 sessions with approximately 14 staff present at each session. At the conclusion of every session, staff evaluated how they felt before and after the practice and all said their stress had been greatly reduced.
Through this resiliency building approach, staff also have an opportunity to address the importance of diet, sleep, and physical activity which is instrumental in mental health support.
In addition to Dance, Movement & Stretch sessions with the hospital staff, FJK Dance provides performance installations of Visual Art and Dance presenting their unique cross-cultural dialogue. These installations are flexible in accommodation, to serve the needs of the hospital’s public programing at different capacities.
Fadi J Khoury is an Artist-in-Residence at NYC Health + Hospitals // King County (Brooklyn) (2018-present)
The FJK Dance message of unity, tolerance and cross-cultural dialogue began with the founding of FJK Dance in 2014. It continues today through our dedication to the “Fusion of Culture and Dance” that allows us to educate and share opportunities in finding connections within our differences. To this end, we offer workshops, performances and lecture demonstrations at educational institutions and non-profit organizations that provide understanding and insight into the process of creating a new artistic form. FJK Dance is actively involved at Kings County Hospital (Brooklyn) through our Artist-in-Residence in the Behavioral Health Services, Wellness and Recovery Division. We support the hospital’s efforts in creating greater awareness and acceptance in our society for those with mental illness. FJK Dance provides a pro bono dance class for staff through the “Heal the Healers” program and the “Arts in Medicine” initiative. in addition, we present “site-specific dance installations” and canvas painting in public areas on the hospital campus. Patients, visitors, and staff take time to stop, look, engage with the dancers, and enjoy the beauty of movement and dance. Fadi Khoury’s background of growing up in Iraq and Lebanon presents ‘Middle East meets West’ with a strong sense of connection and appreciation of diverse backgrounds.
SU-CASA Artist-in-Residence in partnership with NORC at Phipps (2022)
SU-CASA is a community arts engagement program that places artists and organizations at senior centers across the five boroughs of New York City. FJK Dance is collaborating with the NORC at Phipps, which is a senior housing community situated in the Gramercy area of New York, New York.
Not only is dancing joyous and fun, it has been proven to keep our minds sharp, enhance our coordination, improve our posture and balance, and reduce general aches and pains by encouraging flexibility and consistent movement. In addition to its physical benefits, the social aspect of dancing with a group and making new friends can create strong bonds. For many avid dancers, the interaction and communication with other is helpful in reducing depression and feelings of loneliness. An active body leads to positive effects on our brain function, including memory, decision-making and our moods. Not all senior citizens have the ability to move without assistance and there are special wheelchair ballroom dance programs that will include those individuals with physical limitations. The FJK Ballroom Dance Program starts with light movement, a warm-up and gentle stretches, and make certain that everyone participating is comfortable and able to follow.
FJK Dance Outreach Projects
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