Center transformed into jazz lounge
By Linda Lombroso
The Journal News
(Original Publication: February 15, 2007)
Next show at Schnurmacher
What: Max Pollak and RumbaTap.
When: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. March 7.
Where: 12 Tibbits Ave., White Plains.
Admission: Free; open to the public.
Reservations: Space is limited. RSVP to Marlon Sobol at 914-287-7212.
Information:
www.bethabe.org.
The drums pounded. The saxophone wailed. And for a few hours on a cold February afternoon, the Schnurmacher Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing became a 1940s jazz lounge, its residents transformed into soul-shaking dancers unfettered by walkers and wheelchairs.
It was an afternoon, some said, they'll always remember.
Last week's program, featuring Grammy-nominated percussionist Bobby Sanabria and his Latin jazz quartet, kicked off the center's new music-therapy series aimed at bringing world-class performers to the White Plains facility. Next month's show will feature tap dancer Max Pollak and his troupe, RumbaTap.
For the residents of Schnurmacher, events like these have immeasurable value, said music therapist Marlon Sobol.
The facility, part of the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, offers short- and long-term rehabilitation for residents with a variety of physical and neurological impairments.
Many suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia, and drumming seems to awaken their senses, said Sobol. Shaking a tambourine or banging on a drum can help improve motor skills, added Sobol, who leads weekly interactive drumming circles.
Music also has the power to draw out patients who have become less verbal.
"They really do open up because you're playing music with them and you're talking about how the music made them feel,'' he said. "Eventually they do come out of their shell if you put in the time with them.''
When the music is coming from a legendary performer like Sanabria - and it's merengue, mambo, bebop, cha-cha and salsa - the reaction can be immediate, especially among patients with memory loss.
"People with dementia respond best to long-term memory,'' said Sobol. "They may not remember what room they're in, but (play) 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' and they'll know every lyric, every beat.''
At last week's performance, Sanabria made a point of going "back to the future,'' urging residents to shake off their inhibitions and move to the music. He spoke of growing up in the Bronx listening to hip-hop, jazz, funk and R&B, and recalled his grandmother dancing merengue with him when he was only 3.
"Even if you're sitting in a wheelchair, you can dance merengue,'' he said, suddenly taking the arms of a woman standing near the stage. On one side of the room, Cuban-born resident Arnaldo Armas let go of his walker and twisted low to the ground. Sobol grabbed the hands of a woman in the front row and twirled her around. Even local students visiting from the White Plains Youth Bureau moved their heads to the music.
"When the community is around and there's another person clapping their hands or smiling or dancing, it inspires them to do the same thing,'' said Sobol. "We really want Schnurmacher to be an open house for the community.''
Michael Villafane, who lives in White Plains, is a frequent visitor to Schnurmacher. His great-aunt, Anna Chester, has been a patient for several years, he said, and he delighted in seeing her so happy.
"She loves to dance,'' said Villafane, who came with his 2-year-old son, Soren. "Her brothers and sisters will be green with envy that she was doing the merengue with Bobby Sanabria.''
After the show he noticed an immediate change. "Even though she has Alzheimer's," he said, "she was rattling off stuff she hasn't said in months.''
Sobol hopes the music series - which he'd like to resume in the fall - will also help change certain perceptions about the elderly.
"The public usually views a nursing home as a place of deterioration, where you end your life. But this is bringing Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall to them,'' he said. "This is a place of life. They still have life in them."
Brian Hooper, a resident from Port Chester, said he hadn't planned on coming to the Sanabria show. But even after the music ended and the room emptied, he sat in his wheelchair and looked toward the stage.
"This was a beautiful thing,'' he said. "This is going to be talked about for some time.''
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