Dance for Parkinson’s: Where culture, health and wellbeing intersect

David Leventhal | Program Director, Dance for PD | Mark Morris Dance Group | Brooklyn, NY USA

What can Parkinson’s teach us about aging and

wellbeing?

What can dance teach us about the significance of the arts in health?

How might the intersection of dance and Parkinson’s

serve as a model for the field?

Parkinson’s provides a window into the aging process. What can learn from it?

Parkinson’s demonstrates the potential for permanent medicalization

Parkinson’s demonstrates the potential for permanent medicalization while simultaneously suggesting a different model.

Dance

Strength | Flexibility | Gait

What gets addressed?

Cognition

Expression

Strength

Flexibility

Rhythm/musicality

Adherence

Movement sequencing

Social interaction

Relationship with partners

Tremor

Self-esteem

MemoryCreativity

Mood

Postural stability

Gait

Aesthetics

Where dance (and the arts) pull aheadCognition

Expression

Rhythm/musicality

Adherence

Movement sequencing (phrasing)

Social interaction

Relationship with partners

Self-esteem

MemoryCreativity

Mood

Aesthetics

Cognition

Choreography: William Forsythe

Dance for PD: Pune, India

Rhythm/musicality

Dance for PD: Urbana, Illinois

Aesthetic goals

Mark Morris’ L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Dance for PD: Orlando, Florida

Narrative/meaning

Mark Morris’ Dido and Aeneas

Mark Morris’ Romeo and Juliet

Dance for PD: Boston (learning Dido and Aeneas)

Expression

Dance for PD in performance: Brooklyn Parkinson Group at Mark Morris Center

Musical Moving: London, UK

Relationships/Interaction/Community

Mark Morris Dance Group in L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato

Dance for Parkinson’s: English National Ballet

Dance for PD: Mark Morris Dance Center, Brooklyn, NY

Dance can help us build the case for the important role of arts and culture in healthy aging

Dance can help us build the case for the important role of arts and culture in healthy aging and in chronic disease management

Dance for Parkinson’s best practices

may be useful to the fieldas we move forward

1. Focus on the art form—speak the language of dance, not disease.

Participants are dancers, not patients.

2. Listen to our communities. Participants have a seat at the

table.

3. Rethink the way we measure

impact—focus on changes in people

and in organizations rather than on

numbers.

4. Context speaks volumes

5. Foster community.

www.danceforpd.org

www.danceforparkinsonsuk.org

www.communitydance.org.uk

www.musicalmoving.org

www.ballet.org.uk/learning/dance-parkinsons

Join our panel discussion today at 12.00