Dance for Parkinson's - trial session January 2017

In November 2016, I attended a workshop for dance teachers who are interested in teaching dance classes for people who have Parkinson's Disease. The class was held at the Mark Morris Dance Group in Brooklyn, which is home to the Dance with PD organization. The workshop was led by the absolutely awesome David Leventhal, who is the Program Director of Dance with PD. As part of the workshop, we participated in the weekly Dance for PD class. The joy of the class participants was palpable and infectious - I was moved to tears several times during class, but particularly during the "Pass the Pulse" segment at the end of class. There was no doubt in my mind that teaching this kind of class is what I want to do. I've always believed in the  power of dance and music to bring people to a better place in body, mind, and spirit, and this class exemplified that belief in a very tangible way.

When I came back to Chicago, I was overwhelmed and scattered about how to begin. Find some people? Find a space? Choreograph a class? I don't actually know anyone with Parkinson's in Chicago, but I started by talking about it to my friends, and my friends began to give me the names of people they knew with Parkinson's. My friend Susan's mother has Parkinson's and lives in a senior living facility. When Susan told her mother about the dance class, she was very enthusiastic, which grew into the idea of starting a class in the rec room just for Susan and her mother. Susan took the bull by the horns and began to tell other residents the class, as well as engaging the activity director in the discussion. So, starting January 15, 2017 at 2 PM, we'll have a 4-week trial offering of Dance for Parkinson's, which encourages participation by the caregivers (whether family members or hired employees of the person with Parkinson's). I'm really excited!

I have a number of leads given to me by Marsha's friend Judy, and plan to contact those leads after I've begun this first trial of classes. For now, I need to focus on making those first classes the best they can be, and learning from them. Hopefully, those classes will also give me the experience to talk about the benefits Dance for Parkinson's with more confidence.