With humor and music, Pauline Schantzer turns ordinary moments into pure fun for nursing home residents
It’s never too late to have fun — and Pauline Schantzer (@therealpollywolly), a comedian from Los Angeles, takes that seriously. Performing as an actress, writer, and rapper under the stage name Polly Wolly, she devotes her time to visiting nursing homes, spreading joy through her funny rhymes, lively music, and choreographies tailored for all levels of mobility.
“I started performing in nursing homes in November 2023,” Polly told Upworthy.
The first opportunity came through Rena Hirsch, a friend who was the director of one of these facilities and hired Polly to perform. “At first, I had no plans to work in nursing homes. But I grew up visiting my grandmother in one of these places, and now my mom, Judy — my biggest inspiration in comedy — also lives in a nursing home,” she explains. “She has mild dementia, so making others laugh is something very meaningful to me. My mom was always very funny, full of jokes, but over time that got lost. It’s hard to see that happen. Humor has been my way of coping with it all.”
Thinking about how to include everyone in her shows, Polly created the song “The Finger Dance,” with choreography accessible even for those in wheelchairs. In the video, she sings and interacts with the residents: “In the wheelchair, let’s have fun! What does this button do? Oh, ooh. It’s electric, vroom, vroom. Can’t stand up? That’s okay! Raise your fingers high, yeah!”
The lyrics continue: “Move side to side. Yeah girl, looking good! Hey! Wiggle those fingers, don’t be shy. Got arthritis? Come on, try!”
As she sings, the camera captures residents smiling and dancing with their fingers in the air.
The video was very well received online. One viewer commented: “You’re in these homes every day! I love it! Much respect for what you do, laughter is the best medicine.” Another said: “I love how you bring moments of happiness and joy to our elders!” And one even confessed: “You had me doing the finger dance at my desk while I’m at work. LOL.”
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Polly says the inspiration for the song came from home: “I wrote this song, ‘The Finger Dance,’ because my mom used to do this dance [with her fingers]. She was so cute, but she was overweight, her cheeks looked chubby, and she’d point her fingers up. It was an inspiration to me.”
In addition to that one, she has also created other songs with humorous and encouraging lyrics. In one performance, she sang: “You got pains, you got pains, da da da da da da. So dance with your cane, da da da da da da da.” The audience didn’t hold back praise: “100x better than Coachella’s” and “Next stop… Coachella,” they said.
Another hit is “Shake It Doll,” which always gets laughs. In a recent show, she said: “Let’s have fun up here, you know? We only live once. Let’s go!” The music started and she followed with: “Shake it doll, shake it in the mall! Shake it doll in the bathroom!” — all alongside an enthusiastic resident.
“I’m really happy to see the residents enjoying themselves. A lot of times, they refuse to dance or have fun. But when a man or woman who [initially] doesn’t want to dance suddenly gets up and moves, it means a lot to me,” she says.
With ambitious plans, Polly aims to expand her initiative to more cities and states. “I’d love to do a nursing home tour across the United States. I have a lot of big visions for this,” she says. “It really moves me to see how many people around the world tell me how much I’m brightening their day and giving them joy. It means a lot to me to see people laughing. That’s what life is all about.”
Source and images: Upworthy / Instagram @therealpollywolly. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
