Moment Swan Lake music transports former ballerina with Alzheimer’s back to her dancing days

This moving video captures the moment a former prima ballerina with Alzheimer’s remembered the dance in which she once starred.

Marta C Gonzalez, who died in 2019, was listening to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake when her memory of the choreography resurfaced.

Within seconds, she begins to reenact some of the movements with the grace and poise of her youth.

Ms Gonzalez was a prima ballerina with the New York Ballet in the 1960s.

 A photo of Ms Gonzalez back in her dancing days shared by the Asociacion Música para Despertar 

@DespertarMusica/Twitter

The poignant moment was shared by the Asociacion Música para Despertar, a Spanish charity which uses the music of dementia patients’ lives to improve their mood and memory.

Actor Antonio Banderas shared the clip on Facebook, writing that he hoped the video would serve as “well-deserved recognition of her art and her passion”.

Ms Gonzalez was deeply moved by the music

PA

After finishing her performance at the home in Valencia Ms Gonzalez was met with rapt applause.

She was then comforted by a care worker as she revealed how emotional it had made her feel.

“The power of music is immeasurable,” the charity said. “May she rest in peace.”