Dance Wise for Parkinson’s is pleased to present community dance classes for people with Parkinson's, their care partners, family and friends in Louisville and surrounding communities. ​
Video courtesy of Dance for PD®/ Mark Morris Dance Group

Why "Dance for PD"?

Why Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (2009) was produced by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group in association with the Mark Morris Dance Group to demonstrate the essential elements of the Dance for PD® classes and investigate why dance classes may be particularly beneficial for people with PD. 

Think Like a Dancer

Parkinson’s disease is a “Movement Disorder” and here, David Leventhal explains why professionally-trained dancers are well placed to help People with Parkinson’s improve their physical and emotional well-being.

Synapse Dance

Synapse Dance (9 mins, dir. Karen Suzuki) explores the neuroscience research being done in the Dancing with Parkinson’s program at Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), a Dance for PD® partner.

Why Dance for Parkinson’s Disease?
The program’s fundamental working principle is that professionally-trained dancers are movement experts whose knowledge about balance, sequencing, rhythm and aesthetic awareness is useful to persons with PD. In class, teaching artists integrate movement from modern, ballet, tap, folk and social dancing, and choreographic repertory to engage participants’ minds and bodies and create an enjoyable, social environment for artistic exploration.
Photo credit: Blake Schuble

The Dance for PD® Approach

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. Dancers know all about stretching and strengthening muscles, and about balance and rhythm. Dancers know about the power of dance to concentrate mind, body and emotion on movement because they use their thoughts, imagination, eyes, ears and touch to control their bodies every day.

Dance for PD® teaching artists integrate movement from modern and theater dance, ballet, folk dance, tap, improvisation, and choreographic repertory. The Dance for PD® class is an aesthetic experience that uses the elements of narrative, imagery, live music and community to develop artistry and grace while addressing such PD-specific concerns as balance, flexibility, coordination, isolation and depression.
The classes engage the participants’ minds and bodies, and create an enjoyable, social environment that emphasizes dancing rather than therapy. Active demonstration by professional dancers inspires participants to recapture grace, while guided improvisation fosters creativity, and experimentation with movement.
Photo Credit: Blake Schuble

Upcoming Events

Join us for a Dance Wise for Parkinson's class! Learn about the benefits of Dance for PD and build your community.
Classes run weekly on Tuesdays.

Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church
​4936 Brownsboro Rd

(859) 780-2263 (talk & text)
[email protected]
Dance Wise for Parkinson's classes made possible by the generous support of our partners, Norton Neuroscience Institute Resource Center, Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana, Family Health Centers of Louisville, Full Moon Martial Arts, and the Parkinson's Foundation
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All videos courtesy of Dance for PD®/ Mark Morris Dance Group

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