Dance for PD® offers dance classes for people with Parkinson’s disease in Brooklyn, New York and, through our network of partners and associates, in more than 250 other communities in 25 countries around the world. Key global partners include Dance for Parkinson's Australia, the Dance for Parkinson's Partnership UK, Dance for Parkinson's S.A., and Dancing with Parkinson's (Toronto) as well as organizations like Houston Ballet, English National Ballet, GOTRA Ballet (Netherlands), Canada's National Ballet School, and Queensland Ballet. In Dance for PD® classes, participants are empowered to explore movement and music in ways that are refreshing, enjoyable, stimulating and creative. Founded as a collaboration between the Mark Morris Dance Group, Brooklyn Parkinson Group and Olie Westheimer, the Dance for PD® program also provides teacher training and nurtures relationships among other organizations so that classes based on our model are widely available. The Dance for PD® method has been presented at the International Congress for Parkinson’s Disease and Related Disorders in Berlin, the World Parkinson Congress, and at the Society for Neuroscience. The program was recognized as a model program by the Society for the Arts in Healthcare. Features about the program have appeared on PBS NewsHour, NPR, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Reuters, and in The New York Times and USA Today, among others. The program has been honored by several awards, including the Parkinson Awareness Award , Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award, the Sapolin Award for Public Service from the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and the William Pearson Tolley Medal for Distinguished Leadership in Life Long Learning. Evidence from 38 peer-reviewed scientific studies serves to underpin the effectiveness and benefits of the Dance for PD teaching practice. More at www.danceforpd.org.
