Dance Wise in Your Daily Life!

If you ask my mom, I never walked anywhere as a child. I always danced! It was considered “old” when I (finally) began ballet lessons at the age of 13. But I absolutely loved everything about dancing and all the different styles just lit me up. Though I started “late”, I was born to dance (in actuality, we all are!) and am incredibly fortunate to have had a wonderful and full career as a professional ballet dancer. Even though I don’t take ballet classes anymore and haven’t been onstage in quite a few years, I still find myself leaning into all the regular habits that helped me become the dancer and person that I am.

For most of my career, my body was a finely tuned instrument, doing just what I asked of it. There were, however, days when my muscles and joints felt sore or stiff. Days when my mind felt foggy and my body was sluggish. Those were the days when my mindset was put to the test and I developed ways to cope, both physically and emotionally, and ultimately thrive into my “Act 2” as a retired professional dancer, dance teacher, mom, and entrepreneur!

​This is where it gets exciting because now, in every Dance Wise for Parkinson’s class, I get to share my expertise with you! Each week, we learn about and put into action different dance concepts like rhythm, space, energy, balance, or direction. We also use visualization and close observation to support our various movement explorations and deepen our dance experiences together. Throughout class, I often share how thinking about my day to day activities through the lens of dance offers me opportunities to move with more purpose, ease, and confidence. I always challenge participants to “think like a dancer” when returning to their “regular” lives.

Our bodies feel different each day - stronger, weaker, disconnected, coordinated, clumsy or graceful. Emotionally, we have highs and lows. And we move through it all with active muscles, keen body awareness, resilience, fortitude, and joy thanks to the time we spend each week dancing ​together.