Dance for PD® is great. The teachers are great, the movement exercises are great, the people with PD
that attend the class are great, I’ve attended classes in two different cities and both were great. I’ve used the word great enough for you to get the point so I’ll just say it is a great program that makes me feel physically and emotionally healthy and may help slow the progression of the disease by helping improve my balance, flexibility, and coordination. My intent with this post is to thank the Dance for PD® program and encourage everyone with PD, no matter how developed the disease, to try a class if there is one near you. You don’t have to be a dancer to dance with PD.
that attend the class are great, I’ve attended classes in two different cities and both were great. I’ve used the word great enough for you to get the point so I’ll just say it is a great program that makes me feel physically and emotionally healthy and may help slow the progression of the disease by helping improve my balance, flexibility, and coordination. My intent with this post is to thank the Dance for PD® program and encourage everyone with PD, no matter how developed the disease, to try a class if there is one near you. You don’t have to be a dancer to dance with PD.
Dance for PD® is a non-profit collaboration between the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Brooklyn Parkinson Group. In 2001, Olie Westheimer, the Founder of the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, asked the Mark Morris Dance Group to provide a rigorous, creative dance class for members of her Parkinson’s group. “She knew from her own dance background that professional dancers train their minds and bodies to execute difficult movement with confidence, power and grace. In doing so, they develop cognitive strategies that she thought could be naturally beneficial and enjoyable for people with Parkinson’s.” People with PD suffer from a loss of balance and inability to control movement. Dancers use their knowledge of dance to control their body. Dancers know how to safely stretch and strengthen muscles and about balance and how to enable movement. “The Dance for PD® program is built on one fundamental premise: professionally trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge is useful to persons with PD.” Dance classes for people with Parkinson’s are held in many cities and locations.
I’ve attended PD dance classes in two different locations and both were very similar in structure and lead
by very competent and fully dedicated teachers. The class begins with participants seated in chairs performing a sun salutation that exercises the upper body and arms. This is followed by each person introducing them self by saying their name and making a movement gesture that is repeated by the group. In some ways the class progresses like a traditional ballet class beginning at the barre, in this case in chairs, and exercising the feet, arms, and trunk and doing coordination exercises, then standing exercises while holding on to a chair including combinations of steps in place and finally taking the combinations across the floor. The class ends in a circle with the dancers acknowledging each other.
by very competent and fully dedicated teachers. The class begins with participants seated in chairs performing a sun salutation that exercises the upper body and arms. This is followed by each person introducing them self by saying their name and making a movement gesture that is repeated by the group. In some ways the class progresses like a traditional ballet class beginning at the barre, in this case in chairs, and exercising the feet, arms, and trunk and doing coordination exercises, then standing exercises while holding on to a chair including combinations of steps in place and finally taking the combinations across the floor. The class ends in a circle with the dancers acknowledging each other.
My class is lucky to have live piano accompaniment which makes moving easier and more enjoyable. Music has the ability to inspire non dancers to create beautiful dance movements. Movement is the center of all things. Dance is that movement which is at the center. Parkinson’s is with me every moment of the day and affects every move I make. When I plug into the music and dance I become centered. I forget that I have Parkinson’s and am able to move freely. The Dance for PD® class adds a sense of joy and well-being to my life. The class eases the Parkinson’s, makes it pleasurable to move again, and provides therapeutic benefits that last long after the class ends.
The teachers are great, the music is great, but it is the people that make the class special. People with
Parkinson’s have an in common shared concern that medical professionals can do little to help so we turn to each other. The class provides a social setting where people with PD can meet, learn from each other, support each other, exchange information, and laugh together. Sharing the disease makes it easy to connect. A group of us get together after class to create a PD related performance and have produced a vocal piece and a web site that is a repository for creative work by people with PD. Mostly though we discuss all things PD. I have learned more from people that have PD than I have from medical sources. One thing I learned is that exercise may be one of the most effective ways to combat PD. Thank you MMDG and all the great Dance for PD® teachers and participants.
