Dancing Well: The Soldier Project invites veterans and loved one of all ages to dance together. (Giselle Rhoden / LPM)In an old Highlands gym, under the gentle glow of string lights and waning sunlight, a group of veterans and their loved ones sashayed in a coordinated routine. A piano and fiddle d uet set the tempo and dance instructor Deborah Denenfeld grabbed people’s hands while they circled left and right.Through the end of the year, this gym will be the home of a Monday night dance party reserved for Dancing Well: The Soldier Project, a free dance program for veterans and their families. Dancing Well received a $25,000 matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, earlier this year to allow the classes to be held weekly through December then again from February to May.Seven out of 100 military service members will have post-traumatic stress disorder in their lifetime, according to the National Center for PTSD. A 2025 study published in the National Library of Medicine found that physical activity can improve overall sleep, anxiety and sadness attributed to PTSD. According to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also from 2025, a third of participants with PTSD said “expressive therapies” such as art, music and dance improved their “overall well-being and quality of life.”In Louisville, Denenfeld welcomes military service members with PTSD and traumatic brain injuries to Dancing Well to share stories, enjoy a meal and a do-si-do or two. She started the program in 2012.“I wasn't thinking that I was going to do this,” said Denenfeld, the nonprofit’s executive director. “It started out with a psychiatrist at Fort Knox [in 2010] …and he wondered if contra dance would help them improve their memory.”Contra dance is typically done with a partner or in groups as an instructor calls out the movements.Denefeld — who had a previous career in computer software — had led several dance and choreography classes in schools across Kentucky for decades when she started a dancing program at Ft. Knox for military service members.“At the end, people reported just outstanding outcomes from participating that I didn't expect,” she said. “It was not [just] memory improvement. It was reduced anxiety, reduced depression, improved relationships with family members, improved outlook on the future.”Making adjustments When Denenfeld founded Dancing Well in 2012, she developed a modified version so participants with different levels of mobility can dance together.She also keeps the lights low to accommodate attendees with traumatic brain injuries. She said the more she learned about PTSD and TBIs over time, the more adjustments she made.“[All attendees] pick up a red wristband, which they put on their right wrist,” Denenfeld said. “It's a memory aid…and nobody has to be embarrassed that they can't remember which way is right from left.” The red wristbands also celebrate America 250, Deborah Denenfeld said.(Giselle Rhoden / LPM)She wants participants to leave outside influences and issues at the door: Dancing Well is a “politics-free zone,” and doesn’t permit drugs and alcohol. Denenfeld also keeps the location confidential and screens interested people over the phone.“We've worked very hard to develop a community that has all kinds of people, and I tell people when you come, ‘You're going to see people just like you, and you're going to see some people who are not just like you,’” she said. “I ask them to commit to treating each person with respect.”Denefeld runs the program with a group of volunteers and used the NEA grant to host training sessions to teach volunteers how to interact with people with PTSD or different levels of mobility, hearing and vision.Jim Bennett has volunteered since 2012, when the program started.“The people that come here with PTSD, they need extra help,” Bennett said. “So it feels good to help those people to have a good time because they may not be having a very good time in their day-to-day life.”Jim Bennett is also a contra dancer in his free time, he said. (Giselle Rhoden / LPM)Increasing wellnessIn 2018, the University of Louisville and Western Connecticut State University conducted a small study on the veterans and family members that attend Dancing Well. U of L professor Cynthia Corbitt and her students gave the participants a survey before their first session then another 10 weeks later.“What we found was a benefit for everyone participating in this program,” Corbitt said. “And part of it might be the physical activity, but a lot of it is probably the community connectedness.”For veterans with PTSD, safe spaces like Dancing Well are essential to combatting self-isolation, Corbitt said.“It does provide an avenue for reconnecting with community and of like-minded people, you know, that are all there for the same reason,” she said.Denenfeld, Dancing Well’s executive director, said she hopes the NEA’s Creative Forces Community Engagement grant can contribute to another survey after December.‘Making a little noise’On a recent Monday night, halfway through the group dance, dancers left the floor for a dinner break. Participants brought lasagna, cookies, salad, drinks and more to share."We think that sitting down and sharing food together is very important," said Dancing Well executive director Deborah Denenfeld.(Giselle Rhoden / LPM)United States Army veteran T.K. Harrison cracked a joke with her friend, the volunteer Jim Bennett. Harrison joined Dancing Well in 2019.“When you know you've got friends that you can see and come and do a little dance, make a little noise and get down on a Monday night — it's all right,” Harrison said.She said there aren’t many other gatherings like this for veterans.“That's why I like coming here,” she said. “You get people like Miss Sandra. We’re glad to see Miss Sandra even if she don't get to dance, she still comes in because she likes to be a part of the community…and hang with some beautiful people.”For Sandra Vera, who served 12 years in the Army, Monday nights are the highlight of her week, she said. She joined Dancing Well after struggling with severe depression and suicidal ideation after her military service.“When you go into the military and get out, the civilian world is so different,” Vera said. “They don't teach you how to deal with the civilians and the civilian world, especially after so many years.”Women’s Army Corps veteran, Darlene Bessler said she battled anxiety and sexual trauma following her service.“I was having problems with anxiety, and I was sexually assaulted in basic training by another female,” Bessler said. “So that brought up a lot of my other history of abuse. So it really made me turn inside, and I didn't know what to do about it. So I reached out to Deborah, thinking that would help.”She said joining Dancing Well was “a blessing.”“As soon as I hit that floor, it took me back to when I was in grade school when we used to do square dancing,” she said. “And I could not stop smiling the entire time I was out there dancing.”While dancing together doesn’t solve these veterans’ problems, they say it gives them a sense of community and a chance to feel like a kid again.If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by phone at 988, or online at 988lifeline.org. For support related to sexual assault, you can reach the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE, or visit RAINN.org. ...read more read less