What is Dance for PD® ?

Dance for PD® is a researched teaching method designed and refined over 20 years by the Mark Morris studio in NYC.  Now practiced all over the world by trained instructors, students with Parkinson's Disease can enjoy the art of dancing at any stage in the development of the disease while often experiencing a dramatic delay of the impact of the disease on their physical and mental well-being.

Dance instructors receive this training to learn how to modify their own dance styles to allow folks with Parkinson’s to thrive.  The class structure is standardized to encourage creativity, social interactions, and safe movement.  Each hour-long class provides a space for students to explore new experiences that they may have previously considered out of reach.  Students often report that normal symptoms, such as freezing of gait, are much easier to manage.  

Because the classes are limited to people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, each student feels no need to explain their own limitations, as they may vary from week to week.  The instructors are trained to help each student find their own level of comfort with the movement.  

How does this compare to dance exercise classes?

Dance exercise formats, such as Zumba ® can be used for Dance for PD ® classes, but are only one of dozens of dance styles in the world that can be used. Classical ballet, jazz, African, Latin, swing, ballroom, tap, line, country, Irish, contemporary, and others are all being taught to Parkinson’s students somewhere in the world. 

There is a huge body of research that proves the impact of exercise, both aerobic and weight bearing, on the progression of Parkinson’s Disease.  Dance does not directly fall into this activity, because resistance training is not used and we do not place an emphasis on an aerobic heart rate.  The students should continue their recommended exercise routine in addition to their dance training. 

So, if it’s not just another exercise class, what does it do?

A great deal, actually.  Here are some of the goals of the program:

Social Interaction

With any disease that affects mobility, there is a danger of social isolation.  Finding a group of people who spend an hour together each week with no other expectation than encouraging each other to find fun, relaxation, and beauty in a new (or renewed) skill is a true gift. 

The dance movements encourage face to face interaction, coordinating movements that give a sense of common purpose and community, and may encourage some participants to partner through hand holding or other safe touching. 

Those human connections can improve self-esteem, reduce feelings of depression, and generally increase your mental well-being.  

Creativity

At its core, dance is a movement art form.  The development of a dance move is a creative expression that comes from the interaction of several parts of the brain.  Allowing the creative centers to be involved with movement seems to use the brain in a way that bypasses the areas damaged by Parkinson’s.  

When we combine the social interaction with the creative movement process, we have an experience described as “co-creative.”  You may remember activities in your youth like story telling where one person starts a story, and the next person tells the next paragraph, etc.  In dance this is super fun to do, and gets even more areas of the brain involved. 

Coordination, Balance and other motor control

Through slow, repetitive movements a person’s brain can develop new neural pathways that control and remember that movement.  When combined with different cognitive, creative, and social functions, those pathways may bypass the areas of the brain affected by Parkinson’s Disease.  Once established, these pathways can be used even when the music isn’t playing or the person is alone.