Dance for PD to offer training workshops

If you are a trained dancer or dance instructor who is interested in making a greater impact in the community, or perhaps better yet, a therapist or movement practitioner who is desiring to learn new techniques, then Dance for PD® workshops are for you!

Coming to Australia in May, a Dance for PD® workshop will first be held in Sydney on May 8 and 9 at Critical Path’s Drill Hall. Sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then, a Brisbane workshop will also take place May 11 and 12 at the studios of Queensland Ballet. These sessions will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 11, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 12.

Dance for PD® is a program taught and offered by U.S.- based Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Mark Morris Dance Group to individuals dealing with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that causes movement-related symptoms, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement, difficulty walking and falling backward.

Dance for PD® workshops, which are led and offered all over the world, aim to train dancer instructors on how to better address and help curb some of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. While there is no official cure for Parkinson’s disease, medications, surgery and dance/physical therapy are proven to often help curb symptoms.

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. Teaching artists integrate movement from modern dance, ballet, folk dance, tap, improvisation and other choreographic repertory.

Therefore, Dance for PD® workshops are designed to enrich, inform and inspire a diverse group of individuals who want to introduce people with Parkinson’s to the joys and benefits of a customized dance experience. During Dance for PD® workshops, specially-designed training modules, a demo class and interactive sessions provide a wealth of information to experienced dance teachers and other interested participants.

The Australian workshops will be designed primarily for dance teachers, although therapists, yoga, fitness and Pilates teachers, group coordinators, Parkinson’s community leaders, care partners, allied health professionals and others are warmly invited to attend as Active Auditors through the organisation’s Educational and Professional Enrichment program.

Workshop enrollment is extremely limited, and spaces are available on a first-reserved basis. The workshops tend to become fully subscribed very quickly.

For more information on the Dance for PD® courses, click here. For background information on the Dance for PD® program and training, click here.

Photo: Dance for PD® class. Courtesy of Dance for PD®.